Europcar has pre-ordered 500 electric cars from Renault to be in major European cities from the latter part of 2011.

Already committed to protecting the environment, the rental car company is Renault’s principal short-term rental partner in Europe.

The partnership agreement was signed recently at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in order to promote zero-emission mobility.

Renault will be launching a three-car Z.E. range, including a family four-door saloon and a small city car, next year.

The cars all feature three different ways of recharging them. They can use standard charging, which takes six to eight hours, fast charging takes around 20 to 30 minutes and quick-drop charging, which is intended to top-up the battery.

All the cars will be fitted with an intelligent system that not only advises the driver of how low the battery is but will also give information about the nearest recharging or battery exchange stations, which will be around the UK from January 2011 thanks to the government Plugged-in Places scheme.

Renault aims to be the market leader in terms of innovative electric car technology, and this deal with Europcar is a further boost towards reaching its target.

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