The Twizy: Europe’s Electric Concept Car

What’s the Latest Development?

French car maker Renault is ready to make the Twizy reality. Once the company’s electric concept vehicle, it is scheduled to be sold in France this spring. With room for two people and no doors, the vehicle looks like a souped up golf cart though it is capable of traveling 62 miles on an electric charge from any household outlet. Like other electric car customers, friends of the Twizy will buy the car outright but lease the batter from Renault, greatly reducing fuel costs as they make our cities more efficient.

What’s the Big Idea?

The city of Paris, which was the first to introduce a municipal bike sharing program, has frequently taken the lead in shaping tomorrow’s cities. Now French officials are pitching the Twizy as the future of inner-city commuting. While the car’s no-door design means drivers will have to bundle up in the winter, subsidies from the French government may make that prospect more tolerable. After applying the subsidy to the Twizy 45, which doesn’t require a driver’s license in France, the cost comes to about $7,300.

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