PARIS -- The billboard-sized electric sign featured a big number -- both in the size of the lettering and in its import.
It touted the Renault Zoe electric vehicle, saying "Renault ZOE 400 km. 100% Electric. Now."
That's 400 kilometers, or 249 miles, of driving range per charge, although it's based on the extremely generous New European Driving Cycle testing. (A Nissan executive later said the Zoe would get about three-quarters of that in real-world driving.)
Nevertheless, it represented a striking trend at the auto show here: Call it the second wave of electric vehicles.