Europe's first electric car, a Renault, will be made in Valladolid and will be available in the second half of 2011, according to the French car manufacturer's president in Spain, Jean Pierre Laurent (pictured, right)
 
The new model, called Twizy, will have a starting price of between 5,000 and 6,000 euros and will be launched in conjunction with a network of recharging stations and a plug that Renault hopes to have standardised across Europe by the end of the current Spanish presidency.
 
"It is the car of the future" because it's small, produces practically no pollution and very little noise, outlined Laurent in Valladolid yesterday.

According to the president of Renault-Spain, the new prototype reflects a "clear vision of sustainable mobility" based on the belief that a car "should adapt to the world" and not the other way around, adding that after Spain, the car would be made in France and Turkey as well, although the model would vary slightly.

Work will now begin on preparing a "strategy for the arrival of the electric car" which, according to the president of Renault-Spain, will be "accessible to all"  because of its low cost.

A contract has been signed between the French multinational and the Regional Government in Castilla y León, putting into place a Regional Plan for the Integration of the Electric Car, which comprises cooperation between the government, technology centres, universities and private companies.

The minister for economy in Castilla y León's regional government, Tomás Villanueva (pictured, left), described the launch of the electric car as "an huge opportunity for businesses and for employment" which would contribute to the economic regeneration of the region.