UTE, which generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Uruguay, took delivery of its new fleet of 30 Renault Kangoo Z.E.s in mid-July. The handover ceremony took place in the presence of UTE’s President Gonzalo Casaravilla and Stéphane Cottin, sales and marketing director for Renault’s Americas Region.

“This order is a further sign of the interest in the region for electric vehicles,” noted Denis Barbier, senior vice president, Renault, and chairman of Americas Region. “After previous deliveries in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, these Kangoo ZEs will serve as ambassadors for electric vehicles and for the Renault brand on the roads of Uruguay.”

The 30 Kangoo Z.E.s will be used by UTE for missions in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo and elsewhere in the country, and will enable the operator to reduce the annual CO₂ emissions produced by its vehicle fleet by 36 tons, according to the automaker.

In 2008, Uruguay committed to an ambitious program aimed at diversifying its sources of electricity. Today, 84 percent of the country’s electricity comes from renewable sources and the government’s target is to extend this figure to 90 percent thanks, in part, to the development of wind farms which stand to produce one-third of Uruguay’s electricity by 2016.