The SAVE Project: the first electric car tests

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I was invited to attend the presentation of the SAVE Project (SAVE means Seine Aval Electric Vehicles which took place at the EDF Eco Centre in Les Mureaux (near Paris) on Wednesday 30th June.

An innovative project!

The SAVE project is the first full-scale electric vehicle test in France, and more particularly in the Yvelines department. This test project is the result of shared volition between Renault-Nissan, EDF, the Conseil Général des Yvelines (Yvelines General Council), EPAMSA (a public development authority) and the Ile-de-France region. Renault and EDF partnered up with Total and Schneider Electric to successfully complete the project.

This test project will begin in January 2011 as the first vehicles are delivered to four large towns in the Seine Aval region: Mantes, Les Mureaux, Conflans and Poissy. The Renault-Nissan Alliance will provide 100 vehicles (Kangoo Z.E, Fluence Z.E and Leaf) to corporate customers but also to private individuals. In addition, 300 charging terminals will be installed (in public car parks, in service stations, on the street, in shopping centres, and in collective and private residences) in order to ensure that the vehicles can be charged.

What are the expectations of such a project?

The project has many objectives. Firstly, SAVE means that electric cars can be tested in the field so we’ll see if they meet customers’ requirements. In addition, the project will allow various operational charging solutions to be tested in terms of how users accept them.  Finally, SAVE will confirm the CO2 assessment of different electric cars.

In conclusion, I think that the SAVE project is an excellent initiative and I hope that this test will help change the average user’s vision of tomorrow’s car!

Arnaud Delacroix created the ParlonsVoitureEcologique.com blog. He is passionate about the world of cars and how it's changing, and stays up to date with environmental news from manufacturers. On ParlonsVoitureEcologique.com, you'll find articles about the big green trends in the automotive sector, and also speeches, innovations, and commercial news from manufacturers on the subject.

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