Zoe

Renault-Nissan Alliance will start working with transportation-technology consultant Transdev on autonomous electric-vehicle testing near Paris.

Zoe, Europe's best-selling electric-vehicle, will be the base for self-driving prototype in Wuhan.

Zurprise.

Renault Zoe is about to catch the Nissan Leaf for the European sales lead among electric vehicles.

Renault announces changes to the Zoe and Twizy EVs, with the most important update being a better motor in the Zoe that increases the range to 149 miles.

Renault boosts Zoe's single-charge range to about 150 miles.

Renault doesn't want to be left out in the Norwegian cold. The French automaker knows that EV sales are through the roof in Norway, so it is finally bringing the Zoe EV to the Scandinavian country.

Renault says it's less than six years away from saving the commuting world a bunch of hours of work, not to mention a lot of gas and a few accidents. The French automaking giant is touting its Next Two prototype, which is based on the Renault Zoe platform and marks the company's entry into the autonomous-driving field.

Renault can find both good and bad news from its offering on the European electric vehicle market – the Zoe EV sold only one fifth of its sales target for its first year - with 10,000 units sold – but it appears that French customers who do bite are falling in love with the little EV.

Fans of the old Schoolhouse Rock cartoons (there are more of us than you think) know that three is the magic number, and that's the approach a new UK carsharing club is taking with its launch. The E-Car Club bills itself as the UK's "first entirely electric pay-per-use car club" and it debuted earlier this month at the University of Hertfordshire, about 20 miles north of London.

In Europe, car rental and car sharing are getting tapped into by automakers to "move the metal." Electric vehicles may come equipped with cutting-edge technology, but when buyers balk, automakers are quick to Jon LeSage

Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn continues to be evangelical about electric vehicles. The problem is, he's preaching to the choir.

There's no quicker way to jump-start plug-in vehicle sales than a big order from the government. When it comes to Renault, France certainly is obliging. France's Union des Groupements d'Achats Publics (UGAP) is ordering 2,000 (!) Renault Zoe electric vehicles and another 100 Fluence Z.E. EVs during the next three years.

Australian rockers AC/DC sent many a head bangin' with the 1980 anthem, Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. Renault is rocking a similar message, albeit without electric guitars, to push lagging electric-vehicle sales.

Consider it a salute across the English Channel.

Ahh, synergy.

Here's something that should warm the hearts of electric-vehicle enthusiasts in cold-weather climes.

Longtime Renault executive Béatrice Foucher has been tapped to become vice president of the French automaker's electric-vehicle operations, Renault has announced.