Renault Zoe EV Spotted in Chennai, India-bound?

Back in February this year, Renault showcased the all-new Zoe EV at the Auto Expo 2020 but no more. There’s no announcement on the possible launch timeline of the Zoe electric car in India. After almost 8 months, the Renault Zoe EV has been spotted plying on the Indian roads again. A white-coloured Renault Zoe EV has been spied running bearing a temporary number plate in Chennai recently. Does it mean the new Zoe EV is about to launch in India?

We’re pretty sure the answer is not yet. The reason is, the test mule caught on cam recently is the pre-facelift model while the one unveiled at the Auto Expo is in its new avatar and gets very different front bumper and fog lamp housing. Therefore, we can safely assume that this particular Renault Zoe EV was being tested how conducive Indian driving conditions are for the electric vehicles. Still, we can expect a possible launch of the Renault Zoe EV for India but we are not likely to see it happen soon.

In its latest guise, the Renault Zoe comes with a 52 kWh battery pack as standard that can be fully charged from zero in around 9 – 10 hours via 74 kW wall box charger. Also, it can be juiced up to 80 per cent power in just over 1 hour via a 50 kW fast charger. The updated Zoe can deliver two states of power: 108 PS/ 225 Nm and 135 PS/ 245 Nm. The car can cover a WLTP range of 395 kilometres for the lower-spec variant and 385 kilometres for the higher-spec model.

In terms of look, the Renault Zoe EV gets an unconventional design but it’s quite soothing to the eyes. The Zoe EV is rather longer than most of the hatchback cars in India with the overall length of 4.08 m. On the inside, the Renault Zoe offers a massive 9.3-inch tablet-like touchscreen infotainment system. Note that the spied and tested Zoe here features a smaller R-Link screen with a smaller digital driver’s display as well. The updated Renault Zoe EV is loaded to the gills with premium features like auto LED headlamps, heated seats and door mirrors, heated steering wheel, front parking sensors among others.

If the French carmaker could bring the Zoe EV to India, it is likely to get a sensible price tag of around Rs 20 lakh mark. The Renault Zoe EV will compete with the likes of Tata Nexon EV and the upcoming Tata Altroz EV in the Indian market.