Renault is really serious about promoting its ECO² label (besides the funny ad). We can arguably say that the ECO² models are just the base versions with minor tweaks to reduce CO₂ emissions, but the truth is that the French marque is betting hard on reducing those emissions.

Now it's the time for Renault's Kangoo vehicles. The Kangoo is a panel van which is as large as a Golf yet can haul a full Euro-pallet load. It's ugly but it's also effective, and the 70 and 85 HP versions of it can have the ECO² label: They're built in an ISO 14001-certified plant and produce less than 140 g of CO₂ per km. It's also produced with at least 5 percent of recycled plastics and you can even use up to B30 with full warranties.

Surely, this is something Fiat was thinking about too. But their model is smaller.

[Source: Renault]

Around the beginning of October, Renault announced it would enter a Logan Renault eco² concept vehicle in the Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai. That event is now taking place and the decent-looking Logan released an amazingly low amount of CO₂ into the air as it drove the 172.2km route: just 71 grams per kilometer. To cover the distance (a little over 106 miles), the Logan used 4.69 liters of biodiesel (B30). Emissions were not the only thing tested in Shanghai, as an acceleration test, a slalom test, noise emissions and a regularity run were also part of the Challenge. 74 vehicles entered and the Logan came in second. Read more from Renault after the jump and we'll have more on the Challenge as news comes in from China.



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• Renault intros Logan Eco2 for Challenge Bibendum

[Source: Renault]

A weird equation, isn't it? But this video shows Renault's latest campaign to promote the Eco² series of "green cars" in Spain. If your Spanish is rusty, the song more or less says "Why can only movie stars have ecological cars?" Those who work for them: make-up artists, their pets' hairdressers, their stuntpeople, people who wash the Hollywood sign... can have an ecological car because it's cheap.

While the fact is that almost all base engines have become the "green" option for marques in Europe that don't have hybrids, at least it's an imaginative way to sell the idea. You see ecological and economical begin with the eco- preffix. Now you know where Renault got the name from.

Related:

• Renault kicks off eco² initiative, vehicle line

[Source: TV and YouTube]

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French automaker Renault is taking its environmental responsibility very seriously, so much so that it has kicked off a new initiative and associated line of vehicles it calls eco². From a high level, it's basically an end-to-end green industrial initiative, which looks to alleviate the impact the company has on the environment from initial manufacturing, through the operating tenure of a vehicle, and then the handling of said vehicle at the end of its usable life.

For a Renault to earn the eco² designation, three criteria must be met:

1. It must be manufactured in an ISO 1400-certified facility. In short, this means that the plant must show continuous improvement over time in certain environmental impact measurements.
2. Carbon dioxide emissions mustn't exceed 140g/km, or the vehicle must be able to run on E85 Ethanol or B30 Biodiesel
3. 5 percent of the plastics used in the manufacturing process must be sourced from recyclable materials

Examples of cars that currently qualify for the eco² designation are the Renault Clio Rip Curl, with its stingy 1.2L TCE 100 turbo engine and Megane 1.5 dCi. In June, the automaker will release a Megane capable of operating on E85, which will automatically make it an eco² machine.

Not coincidentally, a general downsizing of the engines Renault is using in its cars coincides with the initiative. the newer powerplants offer comparable power to the larger units they replace, while surpassing them in the areas of fuel economy and carbon emissions. It's also important to note that the cars that qualify for eco² happen to target different audiences. This isn't something Renault appears to be looking to please a single segment with. They're going to apply it wherever they can. Long term it looks like it's going to be their new way of doing business.

Renault's comprehensive press release is pasted after the jump.



[Source: Renault]