Nissan Aiming For European Diesel Van Fleets With E-NV200 EV
Though diesel rules the delivery fleet in Europe, Nissan would like fleet managers to leave oil-burning behind for the all-electric e-NV200.
Automotive News Europe reports brand general manager for product strategy and planning Thomas Ebeling believes the EV would be a better fit over diesel power, thanks to 40 percent lower costs of operation and better handling due to the van’s low center of gravity and wider stance than the competition. The brand says 200,000 commercial vans are in service over European roads at present, and though it hasn’t offered how many e-NV200s will be sold to replace them, Nissan believes all of those vans are potential customers.
There are a few challenges to meeting that goal. For starters, the van is currently made in one location: Barcelona, Spain. Output is expected to reach 1,200 units in 2015 for the global market, 2,742 by 2020. Another factor is price: German fleet operators pay €16,480 ($22,418 USD) with tax for petrol versions of the NV200, and €18,390 ($25,017) for diesel power. The e-NV200, by comparison, would cost €29,819 ($40,564) with tax and battery purchase, though operators could also pay a monthly rental fee of €87 ($118) for the pack, dropping the price to €23,919 ($32,538).
The e-NV200 is already in showrooms in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, and will arrive in Teutonic and Nordic countries later this summer before entering Japan in October. As for the United States, Nissan is currently conducting trial runs to determine market viability before deciding whether to bring the commercial EV to market.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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Nissan may get me to buy something from them just because they keep featuring that sky blue. More, more, more! This is a future I want, a giant-size Leaf that will let you bring back things from garage and estate sales.
Payload and cubic capacity are the big hurdles here. A suitable-size battery pack takes up a lot more volume and mass than a tank of diesel fuel, and commercial use will hit those constraints far more often than a private-use passenger vehicle.
Not if they do it right. If they take the Tesla route of a flat pack under the floor, they may end up with more space than they had before.
Emissions/mileage regulations are changing in Europe, and will favor hybrids and ev's at the expense of diesels. Probably this move by Nissan is tied into that change.