Renault Zoe to the rescue! RAC adds electric van to breakdown fleet

By Sam Phillips

24 Jan 2022

If you have the misfortune to suffer a car breakdown in the near future, help could come in the form of something small, electric and very orange: the RAC has become the first breakdown firm to add an electric patrol van to its fleet of vehicles, in the form of a Renault Zoe Van E-Tech.

The breakdown service has rolled out a Renault Zoe Van E-Tech, which has been specially fitted to carry a range of tools and parts. While the Zoe is smaller than usual RAC vans, the organisation says it has the kit to fix four out of five breakdowns at the roadside.

The Zoe Van E-Tech has a 52kWh battery, giving it achieve an official range of 245 miles. The machine will primarily be used to deal with two of the most common forms of breakdowns: flat batteries and flat tyres.

In order to carry out on-the-spot roadside assistance, the Zoe will carry up to six replacement 12V car batteries, two tyres, a trolley jack, a battery tester, the RACScan diagnostic tool and a host of standard patrol tools.

The RAC's first Zoe Van will be deployed in a variety of settings both urban and rural to assess its use as a breakdown patrol van.

Renault Zoe review

“We have been assessing various electric vans for some time but have been frustrated by the fact there isn’t one on the market that can do what our diesel-powered patrol vans can do at the moment in terms of carrying 500 parts and tools and towing broken-down vehicles, with a range that’s even half what one of our standard vans can do on a full tank," said RAC group operations director Paul Coulton.

“This first RAC all-electric patrol van may be small, but it’s easily capable of successfully attending nearly half of the breakdowns we get called out to on a daily basis. We’re confident it will prove the old saying that good things really do come in small packages.”