Leaf / EV fleet application in metro LA

[timhebb]

In my year of Leaf driving experience (can't say ownership - it's leased) I've been more and more seriously considering launching a startup B2B courier/messenger service in the metro LA area using Leafs and electric motorcycles (e.g., Zero) exclusively. A zero emissions courier service - it would be a first, at least in our region.

It struck me that the far lower operating and maintenance costs of Leafs might offset the initially higher costs of acquiring them, and the more they're in operation, the greater the offset (with the likely - and serious - exception of battery life). The most serious reservation, it seems to me, would be the range and recharging limitations, but in LA traffic, that may not be turn out to be as big a problem as it might seem at first: 20 miles could take two hours of driving in some scenarios, especially at rush hour. On the other hand, the ability for a sole occupant/driver to use the HOV lanes could be a big plus at times. Also, at a time of rising oil and gas prices, no fuel surcharges - ever.

Coverage areas would have to be carefully considered, along with access to public or private EVSE locations. The "green" aspect of the business would have to be, IMHO, a secondary selling point, after competitive rates, dependability and other performance issues. But, for certain segments of the market, the environmental argument could be very powerful (think entertainment, advertising, health and other industries with public profiles that would be enhanced by their association with this green support service).

There are many, many other considerations, and the arguments in my head go back and forth endlessly. So, although this may not be the most appropriate place for this post on this forum, my respect and admiration for the So Cal EV community here makes it an overwhelming choice to seek out your thoughts, caveats and advice. In other words, I'm trying to do some very selective crowdsourcing here.

All replies are welcome, but particularly those of devil's advocates and skeptics. The time to find the flaws in a plan is not after much time and money is invested, but before.

Thanks for the benefit of your thoughts on this. (BTW, if your views are favorable, investors may be considered, but that's NOT what this post is about.)

Tim

 

[HighDesertDriver]

The Leaf seems to work just fine as a taxi or courier in Japan (and possibly in Europe), but they have access to quick-charge facilities. The usefulness of a Leaf in the LA area would depend on your operational radius, use of freeways, and how long you have between runs to add some charge. Reliance on public or private L2 would likely limit your practical daily mileage to around 100 miles (night charging with some daytime opportunity charging). Installing your own L3 (since the current number of public ones in LA is effectively zero) is not a trivial expense and would likely require finding a commercial location with parking and the proper 3-phase power. 2013 Leafs will reportedly have 6.6kW chargers, doubling the L2 charge rate and changing your calculations somewhat.

If you are already involved in the business, it would seem a first step could be to look at your daily mix of distances, idle times, and roads used. For less than $100 you can purchase a unit from CarChip which plugs into the OBDS port. It will record every car parameter you want -- and much you don't want, but which is interesting -- for later download and analysis. For a somewhat larger investment, it will also record GPS data. "The market analysis is left to the student."

Good luck with your efforts!

 

[PaulScott]

I agree with the other poster that this could be a good business opportunity, especially given the recent rise in gas prices.

If you are interested in getting pricing for a small fleet, call me at Nissan of Downtown LA tomorrow to discuss. I have a couple of 2011s that might be of interest.

 

[EricH]

This seems like a really good base on which to build some type of L3 infrastructure. If you figured that 3-5 QC chargers, strategically located, could serve as a 'lunch break' stop for your couriers, effectively doubling (with 2 partial QC's during each work shift) the Leaf's range, the demand charges could be amortized by opening these stations to public use. If you're maintaining the stations for the courier service (which would get first priority during the workday) then any revenue from public use would be 'gravy'. Of course, the demand charges would offset (perhaps completely) your fuel savings from avoiding gasoline use.

The trouble is, you are probably going to be competing against fleets of plug-in Prius'es or Volts, which would reduce your fuel-cost (and "green-ness") advantages somewhat. I can picture (no pun intended) a Cedars-Sinai or a Sony Pictures being perfectly content with a fleet of Prius courier-mobiles, which are mostly/somewhat electric, and get very high gasoline mileage when not in BEV mode.

 

[timhebb]

Thanks to you all for your thoughtful comments, which somehow I missed when you first posted them - I configured and expected to get notifications of them from MNL, which either never were sent or I overlooked them.

EricH's observations about "how green is green" for even environmentally sensitive organizations go straight to the heart of the viability of this concept, and to my day-to-day vacillating views on the issue.

I don't know that even the most thorough market research could tease out the answer to the riddle of whether a Sony, a Disney, a Paramount or a Warner Bros. would find enough differential in the value proposition to tilt toward a courier service based on a zero-emissions model vs. a 10-or-20% emissions model (or whatever the numbers would reduce to using Priuses or Volts or whatever).

The considerable advantage of having a QC charging network available will be diluted significantly, IMHO, when the 2013 Leaf is available with its 6.6kW charger. At this point, that's what I'm setting my sights on, while also planning to take a look at the Focus EV whenever possible.

Again, your thoughts are appreciated thoroughly, and welcomed as the discussion (hopefully) continues.

Tim