Living with LEAF: EV Heroes

APR

2013

Renault-Nissan Alliance Team
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Living with LEAF: EV Heroes

When it was launched, Nissan LEAF was the world's first purpose-designed electric vehicle from a major manufacturer. It was a roomy family car aimed at customers who mainly used their car as their daily driver for local trips - shopping or commuting - and who wanted to make a contribution to improving air quality in their home towns.

But that hasn't stopped LEAF taking on some very different roles...

Nissan LEAF is fast becoming a familiar sight on taxi ranks right across Europe. One of the first cities to embrace the benefits of non-polluting taxis was Amsterdam where the Taxi-E company is running a fleet of 13 Nissan LEAFs. Their fleet has covered more than 700,000 km and although they have had a couple of flat tyres, they have never had a flat battery.

The latest city to join the green taxi revolution is Zurich where a Green Taxi Initiative has been establish by a group of young Swiss entrepreneurs. They form part of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community with a desire to serve society and improve local communities.

Initially ten Nissan LEAF taxis will operate in the city with a further ten joining the scheme midway through the year.

By 2015, it is envisaged that 15 per cent of the Zurich Taxi fleet will be electric and that the city will have an extensive network of fast chargers capable of replenishing a battery from 30 to 80 per cent capacity in just 15 minutes.

Nissan LEAF is also proving to be the ideal car in which to learn to drive, with drivers of the future getting a taste of the car of the future. Driving instructor Paul Tomalin has taken delivery of a pure electric Nissan LEAF, becoming the first in the UK to use an EV to teach learners how to drive.

Paul chose the LEAF as he wanted a more environmentally friendly car in which to teach his pupils. But the fact that he'll save upwards of €3,250 a year in fuel bills might also have had something to do with his decision.

Paul, who's been an instructor for 14 years, reckons he covers around 40,000 kms a year.

He charges the car overnight for his morning lessons and then uses a quick charger over lunch so he can take another couple of lessons in the afternoon.

"Pupils love the LEAF and the success they have had passing the test underlines what an easy car it is to drive," he said.

Paul isn't the first driving instructor to use a LEAF, however. Over in Norway, the Oslo-based ABC Trafikkskole used their LEAF to help young mum Solveig Marie Ødegård pass her test first time... but the remarkable thing is that Solveig Marie has never driven a car powered by a conventional engine in her entire life.

Read the full article on Nissan's website.