Here's The Renault Twizy in the US, Hassle-free. No, Really.

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Nissan is sending 10 Renault Twizys Nissan New Mobility Concept vehicles to San Francisco as part its citywide ride sharing service Scoot.

The small, all-electric Renault Twizy Scoot Quad will seat two people, have a range of roughly 40 miles and a top speed of 25 mph. The cars will cost $8 per ride or $80 per day to rent.

According to Nissan, the cars are being sent to the ride-sharing service to study transportation in urban areas — and to see if they can sell them anywhere else, probably.

“As large cities continue to grow into megacities globally, we need to understand how transportation is changing and look ahead to anticipate what transportation needs will look like in the future,” Rachel Nguyen, executive director of the Nissan Future Lab, said in a statement.

According to the automaker, the first Nissan Leaf sold in the U.S. was delivered to San Francisco.

Getting the Twizy in America isn’t as onerous as, say, getting a gray-market Skyline R34 across the border — or Mercedes B Class — but it is fairly pain-in-the-ass-ish. Nissan has made the Twizy available for selected fleets, including Scoot, but the car is still fairly rare in America.

The Twizy can be purchased as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle — not licensed for the roads — but the car’s batteries are leased through Renault, which means you’d need a European bank account to pay the lease every month.

Our neighbors to the north already announced they’d attempt to sell the Twizy with its original badging. A private distributor, Azra Network, also owns an EV charging network in the province of Quebec.

(Presumably the same two people won’t be driving the cars everywhere around town with the same looks on their faces.)


Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Daniel J I love my mazda 6. It's getting harder and harder to drive it around where I live as municipalities fail to repair roads. SUVs are just easier to drive with all of the potholes.
  • 1995 SC On the plus side, I found a sedan I want to buy
  • Teddyc73 As I asked earlier under another article, when did "segment" or "class" become "space"? Does using that term make one feel more sophisticated? If GM's products in other segments...I mean "space" is more profitable then sedans then why shouldn't they discontinue it.
  • Robert Absolutely!!! I hate SUV's , I like the better gas milage and better ride and better handling!! Can't take a SUV 55mph into a highway exit ramp! I can in my Malibu and there's more than enough room for 5 and trunk is plenty big enough for me!
  • Teddyc73 Since when did automakers or car companies become "OEM". Probably about the same time "segment" or "class" became "space". I wish there were more sedans. I would like an American sedan. However, as others have stated, if they don't sell in large enough quantities to be profitable the automakers...I mean, "OEMs" aren't going to build them. It's simple business.
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