In a hangar near Lisieux, a handful of employees have already converted four Twingos. The company has not only rejuvenated the engine: "all the organs are changed or renovated," says Lormauto founder Sébastien Rolo.

Batteries take the place of the gearbox and tank that have become useless.

The batteries of a Renault Twingo being electrified in a hangar of the start-up Lormauto, January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, in Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

The dashboard turns black, as do the seats, refurbished. Tired ruffles are covered with leather.

Of the original Twingo, only the body and chassis remain. If they are still working, the windows, headlights or air conditioning also remain.

-100 km range-

Lormauto wants to avoid going through the scrapyard, and develop a local sector in this "retrofit". "We can't explain to people that we have to make compost, and that we spend energy to throw away cars and recycle them," says Sébastien Rolo.

This 53-year-old former computer scientist (and farmer) threw himself fully into this project in 2020. His idea is to offer an electric at less than 200 euros per month over five years, for rent only, without contribution, and maintenance included.

A Renault Twingo being electrified in a hangar of the start-up Lormauto, on January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, in Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

Throughout Europe, the needs are immense and immediate: the establishment of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) and the ban on new combustion cars in 2035 should encourage motorists to equip themselves with electric models.

But the cheapest new model, the Dacia Spring, costs at least 20,000 euros, excluding subsidies, and it is made in China.

Cheap rental offers are multiplying, and the second-hand electric market is slowly developing. But a significant part of the French remains excluded from the electricity market.

"We want to make cars for the working poor," who drive in old cars, subjected to a "hellish circle of breakdowns" and exploding fuel prices, Rolo said. He wants to offer them an attractive, safe vehicle that displays its electric virtue.

Lormauto founder Sébastien Rolo on January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

Its small battery gives it a range of 100 kilometers that should allow you to go to work, in the city or in the countryside. Either a round trip Lisieux-Caen before charging at home, for example.

The small Renault prevailed when Lormauto was looking for a small car widely distributed and healthy.

More than 400,000 first-generation Twingos were still on the road in France in 2022, according to AAAdata.

A Renault Twingo being electrified in a hangar of the start-up Lormauto, on January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, in Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

"The Twingo is remarkably simple when you gut it. And there were no recalls, no defects," or traces of corrosion on the body, says Mr. Rollo.

The company of choice is Twingos produced since 2000, equipped with brake assist and four airbags.

End of 2023?

The Lormauto Twingo should arrive in September at the end of a long homologation phase.

The company hopes to produce its first models by the end of the year. Very ambitious, it aims for up to a thousand copies in 2024, and is interested in other Renault models, bigger.

A Renault Twingo being electrified in a hangar of the start-up Lormauto, on January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, in Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

But it is far from having raised the funding required for this ramp-up. The company is still looking for investors, but also banks or companies willing to buy the cars to rent them.

Lormauto has so far benefited from loans and grants from the Normandy region to the tune of 370,000 euros, and support to the tune of 300,000 euros from the Public Investment Bank (BPI).

200 customers have already booked a car for 200 euros, Lormauto said.

With subsidies, its offer could enter the framework of the car at 100 euros, promised by Emmanuel Macron for 2024.

The charging of a Renault Twingo transformed into an electric car by the start-up Lormauto, on January 26, 2023 in Hermival-les-Vaux, near Lisieux, in Calvados © Lou BENOIST / AFP

The manufacturer Renault, for its part, sells rather well its new electric Twingo at 25,000 euros. And if he has not committed with the start-up, he supports the company R-Fit, which must market in September a kit for converting the Twingo to electric, at about 10,000 euros.

© 2023 AFP