Renault EZ-FLEX: A taste of the future

The Renault EZ-FLEX is described as a compact and manoeuvrable vehicle designed to move seamlessly throughout cities.

Renault is building a dozen Renault EZ-FLEX vehicles which will be lent to various professionals, companies, cities and municipalities in Europe. The experiment is expected to last about two years.

The vehicles are equipped with sensors to better understand how they are used, and the operators will add to this data with their feedback during the experiment. Different data types will be collected such as geolocation, mileage, range, use of openings, speed, stops, etc. This data will then be transferred via the vehicle’s connected systems, either in real time or once per day, to understand the reality of daily uses.

Renault says the analysis of the data, complemented by the operators' feedback, will enable the company to design vehicles which are better adapted to the evolution of urban logistics.

The EZ-FLEX provides an optimal footprint in relation to its load space: the length (3.86m), width (1.65m) and height (1.88m) are small enough to enable access to car parks. Its three cubic metre load capacity is large for its dimensions and made possible by a compact cockpit which still offers the full range of features of a modern LCV. The 4.5m turning circle provides excellent manoeuvrability in city centres.

Everything was designed to meet the needs of deliverers – the wide access to the driver’s seat which facilitates ingress and egress, a highly visible central dashboard for quick and easy access to driving information, pedestrian and urban environment visibility and simple and efficient driving controls.

The human/vehicle interface is modern and fully integrated into the world of smartphones. It offers services and applications linked to the vehicle and can integrate applications linked to various professionals’ activities.

Rear loading is optimised via an ergonomic load height (760mm above ground) and openings enabling easy access to the entire loading surface. The vehicle was also designed to enable a wide variety of configurations. These rear space configurations are adaptable, designed to meet the different needs of the professionals who will use the vehicle.

As an electric vehicle, EZ-FLEX can access city centres, offering a range of 150km adapted to the needs of urban delivery.

Through this experiment, Renault says it is initiating a new approach to prepare and design the innovations of tomorrow. This flexible approach, which is a breakthrough in the automotive industry, is very close to practices used in other sectors, such as gaming.