In the past 2 years, electric vehicle sales have grown by 159%, but the recharging network has fallen behind, leaving some villages in France with no recharging stations at all. This makes the development of eco-responsible transportation a much more difficult task to achieve. Being the leader in electric vehicle sales in France, Renault felt the need to face this problem and build a recharging network in record time. By connecting private charging spot owners with electric vehicle drivers through an app, Renault Plug Inn is the first recharge community that can take electric driving everywhere and re-inject eco-responsible tourism to the villages of France.

Despite the government's efforts to build a more inclusive and effective recharge network for electric vehicles, these are often concentrated in densely populated areas, leaving small towns and villages out of the loop. This not only affects the evolution of eco-responsible transportation but the residents in these remote areas as well, who must struggle not to be forgotten when it comes to the access to clean energy and eco-responsibly tourism.

Re-injecting life into small village tourism is key for the economy of local businesses and boosting “recharge tourism” is an environmentally responsible way to do it. Even if these villages are not a destination, they are becoming necessary stops along the way.

Renault Plug Inn is a recharging network that connects private charging spots with drivers on the road, with the intention of making electric driving possible all through France. By geotargeting the areas in need of more charging spots, we created a localized campaign to recruit members on the Plug Inn app. The more residents join the network, the more “recharge tourism” the villages receive, bringing life into local bars, restaurants, shops and small businesses, and reviving the economy while promoting eco-responsible tourism in the French territory. Plug Inn turns individuals into an ever-growing charging network and a charging network into a charging community built around clean energy.

Leveraging on its data, Renault aims to reach the biggest number of electric vehicle drivers, electric charging spot owners and people considering switching to electric vehicles, from small villages to big cities.

Investing in a recharging network that doesn’t depend on public infrastructure is the only way to keep up with the growing number of electric vehicles on the road. No matter how remote, the recharge could be found anywhere.

As the leader in electric vehicles, Renault is investing in the creation and deployment of a platform called Plug Inn to connect electric car drivers with private charging station owners. First, a geotargeted campaign identified the areas in need of more charging spots and invited the residents to join the Plug Inn network by signing up to be the first ones to download the app. Users will create a profile to share their private charging spot, rent a private charging spot on the road, or both. By building an electric recharging network in the community instead of infrastructure, we are able to expand it in record time, proving that electric driving can happen everywhere while boosting eco-responsible tourism across France and creating a new environmentally friendly model that can be replicated anywhere.

Renault is investing to make Plug Inn the biggest recharge network in France exploiting the high adoption rate potential.

Renault Plug Inn is expected to reach users across all of France by 2023.