I have become a subscriber to the "Fully Charged" channel on YouTube and was fascinated watching the latest content, from The Renault factory where they make the ZOE. As an engineer, who worked on automated production lines, it never fails to impress me when I see pick and place systems building equipment. Whether it is cars (in this instance) or semiconductor wafers or ink cartridges (in my own experience), the thrill of seeing what engineers can come up with for handling and assembling small parts never fails to amaze me.
A couple of interesting comments from the Renault executives Robert Llewellyn talks to. The first was that the response from customers, delighted with their electric cars (more so than the responses from customers of conventional cars), is driving Renault's commitment to EVs. Secondly, how they didn't expect to be so far on with increasing range by now, but much faster development of their batteries than they expected, has brought that about quicker.
Another thing he spoke about is second use of batteries. Their first generation batteries are good for 10 years in the cars then a further 10 years for storage in buildings and the like.