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Renault Kangoo, best-seller electric vehicle for its segment since 2011

First ever electric vehicle (EV) to earn the title of International Van of The Year in 2011, thereby creating a new vehicle category, Renault Kangoo is the segment’s all-time best-selling model

The Maubeuge factory in northern France has produced more than 90,000 Renault Kangoo & 10,000 partners vehicles fully electric vehicles since 2011.

Since its launch, the model has served as an ideal testing ground for the brand’s electric vehicles

16 June 2023

RENAULT KANGOO, EV PIONEER AND LEADER

Renault Kangoo has played an important and sometimes little-known role in aiding Renault develop expertise in electric vehicles.

While Renault began exploring the idea of electric vans back in 1985 with an EV version of the Renault Express running on nickel-zinc batteries, this ambition became a reality in the early 2000s with the Renault Kangoo.

Renault Kangoo served as a testing ground for future electric vehicles and was available in electric (Kangoo Electri’cité) and hybrid (Kangoo Elect’road) versions as early as 2002.

These small-scale runs helped the brand build up real expertise in EV design, industrialization, and especially maintenance. At the time, a team of flying doctors would travel out to each customer to analyse, maintain, and improve those models already in circulation.

In 2011, when it was marketed to the general public, Renault Kangoo Z.E became the first full-electric vehicle to earn the title of ‘International Van of The Year’, thereby creating a segment for electric vans.

Renault now leverages its years of experience and intensive use by professionals to design a new, high-performance Kangoo E-Tech electric market-leading range.

Since then, this model has become the best-selling electric vehicle in history, with over 90,000 units produced at the Maubeuge factory in France. If we add the electric vehicles produced for partners, the figure rises to 100,000 units!

Kangoo is available in an E-Tech electric version for both business and private customers, in 2 lengths, with a floor cab, van or passenger car, and can be customised ad infinitum thanks to more than 350 Renault Pro+ certified converters.

TIBCO, OWNER OF THE 90,000^TH ELECTRIC RENAULT KANGOO

Well before electric vehicles became the focal point of regulatory and economic concerns as is the case today, certain loyal customers had already chosen to shift their fleets to something more environmentally friendly and innovative.

One good is example is TIBCO, a company specialised in eco-friendly digital services.

The company is currently renewing its fleet of 960 vehicles with 50% electric models, including 198 Renault ZOE, 29 Kangoo E-Tech electric, and 28 Megane E-Tech electric.

Strong EV-centred partnerships with companies like TIBCO are very important because they help Renault to develop further expertise in electric vehicles.

Providing fleets designed for long-term, regular, and intensive use, while receiving transparent and consistent feedback is a significant advantage that has helped and continues to help the brand focus on the quality of its vehicles and thus maintain its position as segment leader.

MAUBEUGE, EXCELLENCE HUB AT THE HEART OF THE ELECTRICITY

Since 1997, Renault’s Maubeuge factory located in Hauts-de-France (Northern France), has been making Kangoo for the entire world.

Along with the sites in Douai and Ruitz, the factory forms the new ElectriCity hub – Europe’s largest and most competitive electric vehicle production hub, through which Renault plans to produce 480,000 electric vehicles per year by 2025.

As part of its efforts to industrialize the latest passenger and utility versions of the All-new Kangoo, as well as vehicles by partners Mercedes and Nissan, while guaranteeing top-quality production, Renault has invested €450 million in the plant and installed a new battery assembly workshop.

The electric motor and chargers on the All-new Electric Kangoo E-TECH are all made at Renault's Cléon plant in Normandy (north-west of Paris).

To support the success of the Renault Kangoo in its various versions and the industrialisation of the future electric Renault 4, the Maubeuge plant has confirmed a first wave of recruitment of 200 permanent employees in 2023. These recruitments are part of the social agreement "for the future of Renault sites in the Hauts de France" signed by all the trade unions on 08^th of June 2021, at the time of the creation of the ElectriCity industrial cluster. A total of 350 direct jobs have been announced for the site between now and 2024.

The Maubeuge factory employs 2,500 employees.

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