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Renault is diverting all research and development money away from hybrid and hydrogen technologies in favour of electric cars, chief operating officer Patrick Pelata has confirmed.

Pelata's vision is that a third of Renault's line-up will be electric within a decade. He has also promised that it will have three battery-powered models on sale by 2011: an electric Kangoo van, a Clio-sized five-seat hatch and a larger saloon designed primarily for Israel but which would also be sold across Europe.

All three new models will use NEC lithion-ion batteries, jointly developed with Nissan, and have a range of at least 100 miles.

Pelata also admitted that Renault was looking at different ways that customers could own and run the cars. Because of the high cost of batteries, it's likely that anyone would only lease the cars.

Renault is also looking at schemes where you would swap the batteries at petrol stations rather than waiting hours for your battery to charge.

Chas Hallett

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