Category Archives: Nissan

News and reviews of Nissan electric cars (including plug-in hybrids).

St Albans switches on the Electric Revolution

July 8, 2015Electric Cars, Electric Taxis, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanTrevor Larkum

The first fully electric taxi and rapid charging point has been unveiled in St Albans.

A new scheme, run by St Albans based business, Electric Blue, is introducing the city’s 300 licensed taxi drivers to the benefits of switching to all-electric cars, which are emission free and more cost-effective to operate than current cars.

The Deputy Mayor of St Albans, Gill Clark, is pictured with the MD of Electric Blue, Alex Calnan, who is from Redbourn

Powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, Electric Blue has also unveiled the first Rapid Charger point in the city centre, located in Adelaide Street, which allows a driver to recharge his cab fully in 25 minutes.

In partnership with St Albans District Council, local Nissan dealer Glyn Hopkin, and other electric infrastructure partners, such as Evalu8 and APT Controls, Electric Blue offers taxi drivers the complete package and the opportunity to trial a taxi before they make the switch.

The first Nissan Leaf EV taxi will take to the streets of St Albans next week, according to Managing Director of Electric Blue, Alex Calnan, from Redbourn, who started the business in 2014.

He said: “Today marks an important step forward in the city’s ambitions to improve air quality for residents, as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions by harnessing electric power on our busy streets.

“We’ve received an extremely positive response from drivers so far and once the first taxi is operational, we expect take up to increase exponentially, as owners and customers see the benefits.”

Last month saw the launch of a Rapid Charger and the first all-electric taxi in Watford and Electric Blue will be expanding its network across a number of major UK towns and cities during 2015.

A recent nationwide consumer survey highlighted St Albans as the worst UK city outside of London for vehicle emissions.

Confused.com surveyed 2,000 motorists and ranked cities on a league table based on average emissions produced by each registered car across the UK, using data from a given postcode.

Source: St Albans Review

High demand for free electric car loan to Milton Keynes businesses

June 12, 2015Blog, BP Chargemaster, Charging, Electric Cars, Leaf, Milton Keynes, Nissan, Renault, ZOETrevor Larkum

After Milton Keynes Council’s electric vehicle partner Chargemaster Plc announced that it was offering a free electric vehicle loan service to Milton Keynes businesses – the company has seen a surge of interest, with the vehicles now being in ‘high demand.’

Chargemaster has a small fleet of electric vehicles (EV) that can be loaned to companies (and their staff) within Milton Keynes to allow them to experience an electric vehicle for themselves and to see what the benefits of electric motoring are.

A Renault Zoe and two Nissan Leafs are available for loan to MK companies. No charges are levied and companies have the free use of over 200 charging points in the Milton Keynes area including 56 rapid chargers which recharge these cars in less than 30mins.

Businesses in Milton Keynes are being given the opportunity to test out electric cars

Loan cars are available typically for two weeks at a time and are subject to availability on a first come first served basis.

Chargemaster require copies of drivers’ driving licences but otherwise there is no formal paperwork to complete.

This is a great way for companies to sample the benefits of EVs for themselves without having to buy a vehicle first.

With over 20 electric cars on the market from manufacturers such as BMW, VW, Audi, Renault and Nissan, there is a lot more choice within the EV market.

Over the next five years it is predicted that EVs are likely to become the mainstream vehicle with virtually every car manufacturer producing either plug-in hybrids or pure electric EVs with increasing range of over 150 miles.

Electric vehicles provide huge benefits such as low fuel costs, quieter engines and low emissions which will improve air quality in the city.

There are also considerable economic benefits for both companies and employees with very low benefit in kind taxes.

For further information contact Trevor via email (sales@fuelincluded.com).

10 Best ‘Eco Friendly’ Cars Of 2015

June 8, 2015Ampera, BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, i3, Leaf, Model S, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Tesla, Vauxhall, VolkswagenTrevor Larkum

The 10 best ‘eco friendly’ cars of 2015 — as determined by the editors over at the noted vehicle valuation and information source Kelley Blue Book — were recently outlined in an interesting new list.

The top spot for the year was (not completely surprisingly) nabbed by BMW’s all-electric i3 model — following on the i3 grabbing other such honors elsewhere as well, and sitting at the top of all cars in the US in terms of “fuel” efficiency.

The new list from Kelley Blue Book is part of its yearly practice of compiling a ranking of the most efficient vehicles for the year, across all price ranges and power train variabilities.

“The list of ‘green’ vehicle standouts continues to blossom, and with strict Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements coming down the pipeline, auto manufacturers are making stronger advancements each year in creating more environmentally friendly vehicles,” stated Jack R Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com.

“Topping this list for the second year in a row is the BMW i3 – an electric car that can sprint to 60 mph in just over 7 seconds, and is made in a factory powered entirely by four wind turbines. And if 81 miles of electric range doesn’t work for you, the i3 can be had with a small gas generator that lets you go as far as there are gas stations.”

Other vehicles that were ranked highly by the list include: the Volkswagen e-Golf (2nd); the Nissan Leaf (3rd); the Toyota Prius (4th); the Honda Accord Hybrid (5th); the Tesla Model S (6th); the Chevy Volt [Vauxhall Ampera] (7th); and onwards through the rest of the top 10.

Overall, a pretty ‘safe’ ranking arrangement — the e-Golf, the Leaf, and the i3 all got due recognition, as many other lists have been providing them. I suppose you could always contest Tesla’s position further on down the list, but all things considered, I’d say it’s probably fair. Myself, I’m heavily biased towards the Leaf, and would have placed it higher.

Source: Clean Technica

Satisfaction high for electric cars

June 5, 2015Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Renault, Sales, ZOETrevor Larkum

Britain is switching on to the electric revolution, with four of the top 10 cars in a recent high-profile ownership satisfaction survey being electric or hybrid.

The Auto Express Driver Power survey, which saw 61,000 responses from car owners, was topped by the third-generation Lexus IS 300h with an outstanding satisfaction score of 93.96%.

Lexus also scored sixth overall with its NX 300h – an impressive result for such a new car.

Renault’s Zoe all-electric car pipped the NX to fifth place, though, and classified as the best electric car ahead of the Nissan Leaf, which placed eighth overall.

It is the first time that all-electric cars have finished in the Driver Power top 10, and the first time that a hybrid has won the overall honours.

Second place was taken by the first-generation Skoda Yeti, with the brilliant and recently introduced Hyundai i10 completing the podium.

The current Seat Leon was fourth and won its class, while there were strong results for the Jaguar XJ, Mini three-door hatchback and, against all expectations, the MG3, which came 10th overall.

Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express, said:

“Car buyers are attracted by the low running costs of hybrid and electric cars, but Driver Power 2015 shows that the whole ownership experience for these cars is pretty enjoyable too.”

Source: BT.com

Plug-In Electric Car Sales In UK Went Through The Roof – 6,000 In March

June 5, 2015Electric Cars, Leaf, Mitsubishi, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Outlander PHEV, SalesTrevor Larkum

Number plate changes in March and September always raise car sales in the UK and that was no different last month.

Just as we predicted, expecting a record high 5,000-7,000 plug-in car registrations, the UK landed at 6,114 electric car registrations in March!

This is over 400% more than in March 2014 and the registrations bar jumped off our graph scale!

Plug-in Car Registrations in UK – March 2015 (Image: Inside EVs)

Market share for plug-ins exceeded 1.2% of all new car registrations.

The big winner is Mitsubishi, which said that 55% of all plug-ins sold in the UK in March (3,300) were Outlander PHEVs!

“Mitsubishi Motors (UK) confirmed earlier this month that exactly a year after its launch, the Outlander PHEV has now overtaken every other plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicle, including the Nissan Leaf and the Toyota Auris and Yaris hybrids. The Outlander PHEV accounted for 55% of the plug-in car market in the month of March[2].”

Mitsubishi Motors (UK) Managing Director, Lance Bradley, said:

“For Mitsubishi, 2014 has been an incredible year of dramatic growth across the Mitsubishi range. We have made impressive and sustainable progress, and as confirmed last week, we are delighted to have broken records with the launch of the UK’s best-selling hybrid vehicle. There is a great feeling across the Mitsubishi network – FY14/15 has been a very special year.”

Nissan can be happy too, as 1,254 LEAFs were delivered.

Plug-in hybrids had 4,209 registrations, while pure electric had 1,905.

Source: Inside EVs

Bristol hits milestone 100 EV charge point installations

May 23, 2015Charging, Electric Cars, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, NissanTrevor Larkum

[15 April] Bristol’s 100th electric car charging point was activated today as part of a the Source West scheme.

Bristol City Council has added 64 charging bays to the existing 26 within the city region network and completed upgrades to 10 in a bid to improve the speed of charging.

Mayor George Ferguson said:

“Electric vehicles make up an important part of Bristol’s low carbon future and with their popularity growing we need the high-quality infrastructure to match. We’ve added four rapid charging points to the network and each of these tops up an EV’s battery to 80% in only 20 minutes, offering a quick and convenient service.

“As we celebrate our year as European Green Capital, we need to do a lot more to make positive impact on the city’s air quality. I’d like to see more low emission vehicles like EVs on our roads and making sure we have the right infrastructure is a step in the right direction. We’re also investigating further incentives to encourage businesses to use electric vehicles, especially for deliveries within the city.”

Four rapid chargers are available for EV drivers to use at Brislington Park and Ride, Portway Park and Ride, Temple Gate Car Park and Southmead Hospital. There are also a number of slow and fast charging points located across the City, many of which are free to use with a Source West membership.

An initial two electric Nissan Leaf pool cars have recently been introduced into the Council’s fleet. Additional funding from the Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will fund an EV to perform the Council’s water and air quality monitoring work. The vehicles will be used to help raise awareness of EVs and their role in sustainable transport.

Cllr Mark Bradshaw, Assistant Mayor for Place at Bristol City Council said:

“Poor air quality caused by traffic congestion is one of the biggest environmental challenges our city faces and it’s going to take time for the various actions we’re taking now to make a noticeable difference. We’re committed to working with businesses to increase the use of EVs, particularly through the existing Bristol and Bath Freight Consolidation Centre in Avonmouth. We’re also investigating the potential for on street charging points across the city and we’ve introduced a special permit for EV drivers so it is free for them to park in residents’ parking zones if they display their permit.”

Bristol City Council has led a West of England bid for OLEV’s City Scheme through to the final round. This funding will offer two to four cities/regions a share of £35 million in capital funding.

The successful bidders will be awarded the funding to act as exemplars in regards to Ultra Low Emission Vehicle uptake.

The West of England bid aims to include grants to SMEs for EVs, purchase of EVs to be shared used as council fleet, an exemplar multi-modal rapid charging hub capable of charging EV bikes and cars, implementation of additional charging infrastructure as well as the revamp of Source West.

The intention is also to encourage EV Car Clubs so people can hire cleaner and greener vehicles.

Source: Zap-Map

Kelley Blue Book Announces Best Green Cars For Earth Day – BMW i3 Declared Winner

May 17, 2015Ampera, BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, i3, Leaf, Model S, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Tesla, Vauxhall, VolkswagenTrevor Larkum

April this year, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) compiled a list of the most efficient stand-out cars of the year that are chosen based on efficiency, price, practicality and powertrain, just in time for Earth Day.

KBB’s “Best Green Cars of 2015″ list includes 10 vehicles, 5 of which are plug-in electric cars.

For 2015, the BMW i3 is the repeat winner. It captured the top spot from KBB last year too.

In #2, we find the Volkswagen e-Golf, followed by the Nissan LEAF in third. The two other plug-ins to make the cut are the Tesla Model S in sixth and the Chevrolet Volt [Vauxhall Ampera] in seventh.

And here’s the ranking:

KBB.com’s 10 Best Green Cars of 2015

Rank 2015 Model-Year Vehicle

1 BMW i3
2 Volkswagen e-Golf
3 Nissan Leaf
4 Toyota Prius
5 Honda Accord Hybrid
6 Tesla Model S
7 Chevrolet Volt
8 Toyota Camry Hybrid
9 Ford C-Max Hybrid
10 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Kia Soul EV: Nifty Korean ‘leccy hatchback has heart and Seoul

May 16, 2015BMW, Electric Cars, i3, Kia, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Renault, Soul EV, ZOETrevor Larkum

A cracking little wagon and a declaration of intent

Vulture at the Wheel I didn’t have high hopes for the Kia Soul EV. I assumed that it was a bit of a lash up; a regular Soul with the engine and gearbox ripped out and a battery pack and electric motor rudely bolted onto it. Wrong.

Kia Soul EV in puddle (Image: The Register)

In many ways it is quite the equal of the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf if not quite the ground-breaking BMW i3.

What you think of the Soul EV’s looks will depend on what you think about the aesthetics of the conventionally powered version. Personally, I’ve always quite liked it and I like the EV version even more. Granted, it is not as pretty as the Zoe but it’s a darned sight less frumpy than the Leaf and considerably less jarring than the BMW i3, which is a shape you either love or loathe.

The very slightly restyled rear light clusters and blanked-off grille – which houses the recharge ports – give it, again, to my eyes, a modern and resolved appearance. The EV-specific detailing, like the wind-cheating alloys and LED-running lights, look right at home too. The funky styling really shouldn’t come as a surprise because the Soul was styled at Kia’s California studio.

In terms of battery capacity and motor power, the Soul has the Zoe and Leaf beaten. It boasts 27kWh and 81.4kW to the Zoe’s 22kWh/65kW and the Leaf’s 24kWh/80kW. Kia reckons that the Soul’s battery energy density of 200Wh/kg is a class best. I can neither confirm nor refute that for the simple reason that I’m not sure how Kia arrived at the figure.

What I can confirm is that the Soul can hit 60mph in 10.8 seconds and waft on to a top speed of 90mph. That acceleration figure means the Soul is noticeably faster than either the Renault Zoe or the Nissan Leaf. Granted, a BMW i3 will leave it for dead (the BMW can hit 60 in 7.5 seconds) but the Soul is still a rapid little pup, especially at lower speeds.

The Soul is quiet as well as quick. At all times the electric motor is as silent as the grave. In fact, I think it’s the quietest electric car I’ve driven. Kia has done a good job keeping wind and road noise at bay too, considering that the Soul EV has a semi-detached drag coefficient of 0.35. That is an improvement on the regular Soul’s 0.38.

Fuel Included delivers its first Nissan Leaf electric car

May 9, 2015Electric Cars, Leaf, Nissan, Press ReleaseTrevor Larkum

Fuel Included recently delivered its first example of the Nissan Leaf electric car. Though it was not the first one sold, it was the first one collected from a set due to be delivered at about the same time.

It was collected by its proud new owner, Emma of Hemel Hempstead, from her local Nissan dealership, Glyn Hopkin of St Albans. We are grateful to Ben York, the electric sales specialist there, for his professional handling of the sale.

The New Car’s Keys are Handed Over (Image: FuelIncluded.com)

Emma chose the Leaf from our range of electric cars as the right combination of price and size for her family.

Emma Prepares to Drive Away (Image: FuelIncluded.com)

Trevor Larkum, Managing Director of Fuel Included Limited, was there to hand over the car keys. He said:

“We are very proud to turn over this new Leaf to Emma. We know it will provide her with years of trouble-free service while saving her fuel costs and helping the environment.”

Carlos Ghosn On Electric Car Range, Price & More – Video

When the topic of discussion is electric cars and the individual doing most of the talking is Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, we watch and listen.

We think you should too.

“Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer at Renault, talks with Caroline Hyde about the growth of electric car technology, why development of autonomous vehicles will take at least 10 years, and his outlook for car sales in Russia. He speaks from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on ‘The Pulse.’”

There’s electric car range, price and more discussed in this 8-minute interview with Mr. Ghosn.

Source: Inside EVs