Electric Fizzle in UK or Just too Beaten by Govt Austerity?

Electric Fizzle in UK or Just too Beaten by Recession and Govt. Austerity Plan?

People can get government subsidies of £5,000 to buy electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf. Photograph: Nissan

The government's hoped-for electric car revolution, jump-started by a £5,000 purchase grant per vehicle, is getting off to a slow start with just over 500 people signing up to the scheme since it was introduced at the start of the year.

The figures, revealed in a parliamentary answer by the junior transport minister Norman Baker, show that 534 electric vehicles were registered to the so-called plug-in car grant during the first quarter of 2011. So far, 213 have been delivered.

The incentive scheme, devised by the Labour government to mitigate the fact that electric cars typically cost at least a third more than conventionally-powered equivalents, has sufficient funding during 2011 – the only year for which it is guaranteed pending a coalition review – for 8,600 cars. If sales fail to pick up it will struggle to reach a quarter of that figure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/28/electric-car-scheme-500-takers

The issue may be where do you charge it?.. if you dont have a garage or carport then you have to run an extension to the curb .. and that is not a practical solution. Does anyone know how common home garages are in the UK?. I think most people live in apartments over there.

The beauty of the Leaf is that you can refuel it at home, if you cant do that then might as well get a diesel. Infrastructure might be a real issue in the UK, unlike the US where many people have garages.

I'd say it's an infrastructure issue as well as possible inexperience from Nissan UK. Any Prius owner will say they find inexperience from some Toyota dealers regarding the Prius ten years after it's been released. One only guesses at what a Nissan dealer is going to do with the Leaf!

I went to the nearest Nissan dealer to me - 40 miles away, had a test drive, was very impressed and then went home to calculate whether I could make a Leaf a viable taxi.

There are a few issues before this would be a possibility. No fast charger in my town and no future plans to have one installed in the next couple of years. I have tried to contact the local council about if they have plans and ended up going round and round in circles getting passed from department to department - first it's transport, then environmental department, then planning, then the taxi dept, then round and round and round. Nobody know's who would be in charge of installing them and then they don't believe there's any money available etc etc - you get the picture. The local Nissan dealers in my town gave the impression to me that they were very negative about the Leaf and had no plans to either want to sell them or install a fast charger.

I then tried to speak to the senior man at the Leaf dealers where I had the test drive about whether they'd want to do me a deal to get the Leaf out as a taxi in my town - a great way for the public to see the Leaf in action and they have Leaf taxi's in Japan! The town where I live is affluent and a great place for prospective purchasers as well as the third largest conference facilities in the UK with professionals visiting from all over the UK and the world. This was an opportunity Toyota saw with the Prius and did me a fantastic deal and this has paid off - the area now has the largest number of Prii outside London and the South East (free entry to London congestion zone for Prius) and the dealers get lots of Prius enquiries.

Nissan however, had what I consider a short sighted view. They don't have plans to sell in my area and don't wish to have the Leaf as a taxi. OK, I understand it's their product and they can do with it what they wish, but I do think they've messed up. The nearest Leaf dealer to me (40 miles away) is in a deprived area - not the sort of people with disposable income to test the water with an electric car - an expensive £26,000 VW Golf sized electric car. I didn't see one Prius when I was over there test driving (Prius owners are very much prospective Leaf owners), yet in my affluent area with many Prius, Nissan don't have any plans - madness.

And now they wonder why they're not selling!?! I guarantee that if I ran one as a cab they'd sell loads - my Toyota dealer could confirm this

So if anyone high up at Nissan UK is reading this, get in touch, lets do a deal Otherwise I'm waiting for the plug in Prius and I'm confident I'll get a good deal and support from Toyota.

That sounds like a great idea. Keep trying to make it happen.

Herm said:

The issue may be where do you charge it?.. if you dont have a garage or carport then you have to run an extension to the curb .. and that is not a practical solution. Does anyone know how common home garages are in the UK?. I think most people live in apartments over there.

The beauty of the Leaf is that you can refuel it at home, if you cant do that then might as well get a diesel. Infrastructure might be a real issue in the UK, unlike the US where many people have garages.

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Most people have a house. In the cities there are apartment blocks/flats though many have allocated parking bays. Most houses built from the 1930's onwards will have a drive and/or garage (though all smaller than you're used to in the USA). My house built in 1980 has a drive and garage and would be easy to have a charger installed (and I'm just a humble taxi driver).

However, a lot of our town housing is made up of 100+ year old terraced housing built before cars. As such on road parking is the only place to leave the car and this would cause issues with charging.

Perhaps it's only the richer house owner in the cities who could afford a property with a drive and/or garage, but then they're the prime Leaf owner.

GrumpyCabbie said:

I went to the nearest Nissan dealer to me - 40 miles away, had a test drive, was very impressed and then went home to calculate whether I could make a Leaf a viable taxi.

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And what did you find ? I guess it won't work without a fast charger ...

I always expect the latest and greatest anything to start in California, but I'm actually surprised at the shortsightedness of the English planners.

If there is parking on the street, why could there not be chargers like parking meters ? Run your credit card, or put in coins, to get a timed charge / parking fee.

What is the cost of electricity there?

(conversion today, 1 pound sterling to 1.668 dollars)

In the US, the average is about 12 cents per Kilowatt.

evnow said:

GrumpyCabbie said:

I went to the nearest Nissan dealer to me - 40 miles away, had a test drive, was very impressed and then went home to calculate whether I could make a Leaf a viable taxi.

Click to expand...

And what did you find ? I guess it won't work without a fast charger ...

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With an average mileage per charge of 70-80 miles I couldn't make it pay, almost but not quite. With access to a fast charger 2-3 times a week it would BUT I worry on the long term damage to the battery. I have calculated on a useful life of the car of 100k miles (compared to 150k miles for my Prius).

@MrWilliams There are certain areas of the Country that are indeed installing charging points but not ANY near me. I'm presently waiting to hear back from my MP

The cost of electricity here in my area is £0.13p a kwh inc vat or with cheap night rates it's £0.16p a kwh inc tax daytime and £0.05p a kwh night time. If you choose a zero carbon 'green' producer you could probably add a penny £0.01p to the above.