My company held an Electric Vehicle pilot with the Nissan Leaf from 2011-2014. I joined this pilot in December 2013 and have been driving my Nissan Leaf ever since.
Hate and love are sometimes closely related. That is exactly how I would describe my relationship with my Nissan Leaf (a fully electric vehicle). I love it when my fuel range is more than I need to get from one place to the next; or when I accelerate the fastest at the traffic lights. I also love it when I go to the fuel station only to buy a sandwich or a cup of coffee. “No Mr. Shell or BP, I didn’t refuel my car, I have an EV!”
But I sometimes hate it. For example, when it is late at night and I need to charge the car but there is no spot available! How am I supposed to get home at 1am in the morning? It also has its downsides in the winter. According to the Nissan Leaf commercial, there is ‘a moderate interior temperature in the car’. I remember back in December last year I was driving with my 8 year old daughter. She was so cold she wore a scarf and a warm, woolen hat. We finally made it home, after having had to recharge twice (!) over the space of 150 km.
So why do I drive an Electric Vehicle? And, more importantly, why did I decide to buy a new Nissan Leaf?!
In the Netherlands, where I live, income tax is much lower on electric company cars. So it is financially beneficial to drive an EV. However, this is not my main reason for doing so.
Another advantage is, of course, that Electric Vehicles are environmentally friendly. ‘Electric engines are much more efficient than combustion engines, even though the electricity used to charge EVs comes from a CO2-emitting source, such as a coal- or gas-fired powered plant. The net CO2 produced by an electric car is typically a half to a third of that from a comparable combustion vehicle. (Source: Wikipedia). However, there are ongoing debates around how environmental friendly Lithium-ion batteries are in EV’s. For me, the environmental benefit is important. This is because I have a Wind Energy Contract with my Energy Supplier, and when I drive in my EV no CO2 is emitted at all.
New innovation
The main reason I continue to drive my Nissan Leaf is to be part of a ‘New Innovation’. Analysts predict that in 2020, 6.2% of all cars will be EV’s or hybrids, and in 2050 this will increase to roughly 35%. This signifies a massive change for customers, Energy companies and Governments. At the moment it is easy to refuel your car with gasoline, but far more difficult to charge your EV. Unfortunately, at most gas stations in the Netherlands it isn’t possible to charge Electric vehicles. Some Dutch hotels like ’ Van de Valk’ saw the opportunity arise and installed fast chargers, however they are hard to find. As fast charging takes 30-45 minutes, customers need to find time to do this. Customers might have to kill the time by grabbing something to eat or using the Wi-Fi to get some work done. Electric vehicles are opening up a completely new market, and I don’t know if the Oil companies likes of Esso, BP and Shell are aware of this opportunity in their downstream business… This possible future shift to electric cars will also have a major impact on Governments’ revenue models. In the Netherlands, tax on fuel is 60% per liter. On electricity, it is only 21%. And that doesn’t take into account the fact that electric charging is already 40-50% less expensive than fossil fuel. So, if everybody began driving EV’s in the Netherlands tomorrow, other taxes may have to be increased to compensate.
I plan to continue my electric journey back to the future, and hope you will join me!
August 2014
But I sometimes hate it. For example, when it is late at night and I need to charge the car but there is no spot available! How am I supposed to get home at 1am in the morning? It also has its downsides in the winter. According to the Nissan Leaf commercial, there is ‘a moderate interior temperature in the car’. I remember back in December last year I was driving with my 8 year old daughter. She was so cold she wore a scarf and a warm, woolen hat. We finally made it home, after having had to recharge twice (!) over the space of 150 km.
So why do I drive an Electric Vehicle? And, more importantly, why did I decide to buy a new Nissan Leaf?!
In the Netherlands, where I live, income tax is much lower on electric company cars. So it is financially beneficial to drive an EV. However, this is not my main reason for doing so.
Another advantage is, of course, that Electric Vehicles are environmentally friendly. ‘Electric engines are much more efficient than combustion engines, even though the electricity used to charge EVs comes from a CO2-emitting source, such as a coal- or gas-fired powered plant. The net CO2 produced by an electric car is typically a half to a third of that from a comparable combustion vehicle. (Source: Wikipedia). However, there are ongoing debates around how environmental friendly Lithium-ion batteries are in EV’s. For me, the environmental benefit is important. This is because I have a Wind Energy Contract with my Energy Supplier, and when I drive in my EV no CO2 is emitted at all.
New innovation
The main reason I continue to drive my Nissan Leaf is to be part of a ‘New Innovation’. Analysts predict that in 2020, 6.2% of all cars will be EV’s or hybrids, and in 2050 this will increase to roughly 35%. This signifies a massive change for customers, Energy companies and Governments. At the moment it is easy to refuel your car with gasoline, but far more difficult to charge your EV. Unfortunately, at most gas stations in the Netherlands it isn’t possible to charge Electric vehicles. Some Dutch hotels like ’ Van de Valk’ saw the opportunity arise and installed fast chargers, however they are hard to find. As fast charging takes 30-45 minutes, customers need to find time to do this. Customers might have to kill the time by grabbing something to eat or using the Wi-Fi to get some work done. Electric vehicles are opening up a completely new market, and I don’t know if the Oil companies likes of Esso, BP and Shell are aware of this opportunity in their downstream business… This possible future shift to electric cars will also have a major impact on Governments’ revenue models. In the Netherlands, tax on fuel is 60% per liter. On electricity, it is only 21%. And that doesn’t take into account the fact that electric charging is already 40-50% less expensive than fossil fuel. So, if everybody began driving EV’s in the Netherlands tomorrow, other taxes may have to be increased to compensate.
I plan to continue my electric journey back to the future, and hope you will join me!
August 2014
