Daily Archives: August 3, 2017

Nissan Expects 20% Of Its European Sales Will Be EVs By 2020

August 3, 2017Electric Cars, Leaf 30kWh, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanJo

Nissan must be pretty sure of finding success with the next generation 2018 LEAF (which debuts in September), as the Japanese company expects that up to 20% of its new auto sales in Europe to be zero emission in just 3 years time. Nissan has also stated that two more all-electric vehicles will arrive between now and the end of this decade.

The statement on EV sales in Europe comes from Gareth Dunsmore, Electric Vehicle (EV) Director for Nissan Europe, after the French environment minister hinted at end of gas and diesel sales entirely by 2040.

“By 2020, where the market conditions are right, I’m confident we’ll be selling up to 20 percent of our volume as zero emissions vehicles and this will only grow,”

Dunsmore via Reuters.

What does 20% mean for Nissan in raw sales?

Well, in fiscal year 2016 Nissan sold 735,725 vehicles in Europe, so 20% of that would be more than 147,000 EVs! That’s a lot, but if the new LEAF is reasonably priced, and the new offers are competitive, then it also seems doable at the same time.

As for those “other” offerings: Freshly minted Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has said his company will bring two new all-electric vehicles to market over the next two years, while recently retired Nissan Chief Engineer Shiro Nakamura gave some background on what those new EVs might be, as he said Nissan plans for a BEV sedan and a utility vehicle.

The pending arrival of the new 2018 Nissan LEAF has had little effect on current generation sales…thanks to some deep discounting!

In 2016 Nissan sold some 23,000 EVs (18,500 LEAFs and less than 4,500 e-NV200).

But what do we really like about this 20% figure Nissan is putting out there? It’s the fact that Nissan isn’t just talking about a new EV to being introduced in 2020, or an ambitious fleet goal set for so far away that they can’t be accountable for it (like 10 years from now)…but one that is only some ~30 months away.

Source: Inside EVs

Increased consumer interest helps used electric vehicle values rise 7% says Cap HPI

August 3, 2017BMW, Electric Cars, i3, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanJo

Chris Plumb, a motoring expert from HPI, said: “Interestingly it appears to be the range extender models which is driving the recent strong performance as values of pure electric have struggled of late.

“The BMW i3 is a popular choice and is a great second-hand buy. It brings a good level of specification and badge prestige.

“The optional range extender can increase the range of the BMW i3 in comfort Mode from up to 125 miles to a total of 206 miles. The small, rear-mounted, quiet two-cylinder petrol engine powers a generator that maintains the charge of the battery at a constant level, so that the BMW i3 can continue to drive electrical.”

The Nissan Leaf with the 30KWh power train is attracting higher used values than the 24kWh as it has a larger range, with an NEDC range of up to 124 miles (Leaf 24kWh) or up to 155 miles (LEAF 30kWh).

Demand for petrol hybrid used vehicles remains high. Used values bucked market trends in June and prices strengthened overall, moving up by an average of 0.2% at three years 60,000 miles.

Certain derivatives performed particularly well such as the Toyota Prius (12-17) Plug-In which increased by 3.9%, Lexus RX (12-16) Hybrid which saw values rise by 2% as too did the Prius+ (12- ) Hybrid.

Source: FleetNews

Will autonomous and electric vehicles kill the petrol station?

August 3, 2017Autonomous Driving, Electric CarsJo

Pulling up to the pumps and filling your car with fossil fuels will soon become a thing of the past.

Yesterday, France announced its intention to ban the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2040, while manufacturer Volvo have pledged to stop making them by 2019.

Autonomous cars might take a little longer to reach the masses, but they won’t be far behind. But what does the driverless, electric revolution mean for the petrol station?

According to Shell’s head of business development Stuart Blyde, who Professional Engineering spoke to at the recent Frost & Sullivan Intelligent Mobility event in London, fuel providers will have to adapt their offering.

“I think there’s going to be this different animal of what a station will be in the future and how it serves people,”

he says.

“I think there will be a diversification not only around digital and energy, but the products that you’ll serve in the store, whether it’s food, goods or experiences. They’ll need to be far more compelling for people to want to stop and dwell for 15 minutes.”

Instead of filling up themselves and then driving off, drivers will have time to kill while their cars are charging.

In the short-term, a lot of infrastructure needs to be built to support a move towards electric vehicles. Currently, there’s a mish-mash of different charging providers and operators, and different brands have different sockets and connections.

There’s no guarantee that the station you pull up to will have a source of electricity that’s in your price plan, with a socket that works with your car.

“There is more investment in charging infrastructure needed,”

said Lucy Yu, head of innovation at the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, at a recent event.

“In more urban areas, people are probably more interested in a faster charge, and less interested in long range.”

Blyde has first-hand experience of that frustration.

“I rented a BMW i3 and drove around London, this was 12 months ago,”

he remembers.

“I stopped when I was being told to stop on the dashboard, at six different places, and at all six places I couldn’t charge up. Either the plug was wrong, the car didn’t work, the infrastructure was switched off and had a sticker on it saying out of use on it. On the road the infrastructure is terrible. At home it’s down to you.”