Renault Kangoo van named 'Electric Vehicle of the Year,' has sold 11,000 units

The vehicle may be a little funny looking (at least to some of us), but Renault is seriously celebrating both the sales and accolades of its all-electric Kangoo Z.E. utility van. The French automaker says the Kangoo retained the title of "Electric Vehicle of the Year" in the annual GreenFleet Awards, beating out the "commended" vehicles, the Vauxhall Ampera and the Nissan Leaf. The awards were recently presented ceremoniously by Fifth Gear's Jonny Smith at UK's Emirates Stadium. No word on whether Smith tried to get one of the Kangoo vehicles sideways.

Renault also said the model has moved more than 11,000 units since its debut in late 2011. The Kangoo Z.E., which received a styling upgrade and interior improvements earlier this year, has a single-charge range of about 100 miles.

Renault and sister company Nissan said in July that they collectively moved past the 100,000-unit threshold for its electric vehicles since Nissan started selling its Leaf in the US in 2010. Most - more than 70 percent - were sold through Nissan, and while Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has been full-speed-ahead on EV development, Renault's EV sales have been widely reported to be less than expected. Other Renault EVs include the Twizy, the Zoe and the Fluence Z.E. Check out Renault's press release below.