Nissan To Offer E-NV200 In Europe in 2014
The all-electric future creeps upon us all steadily, from Tesla’s luxury offerings more appropriate for New York Fashion Week, to Nissan’s electric blue and white jelly beans moving eco-conscious families to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Speaking of Nissan, the automaker has decided to unleash the e-Nv200 upon the streets of Europe in 2014, with both fleet and private sales in mind.
The reason is, of course, due to regulations. According to Automotive News Europe, vans made and sold in 2020 for fleets must release no more than 147 grams per kilometer of CO2. Current regs allow for 203 grams of the greenhouse gas per kilometer traveled. Some European cities, such as Barcelona, have or will have stricter limits on how much nitrogen oxides and particulates a vehicle can produce – no surprise then that Nissan and the municipal government are working hand in hand to promote EVs.
The e-NV200 will be screwed together in Barcelona alongside its gasoline-fueled sibling, and will share its powertrain with that of the Leaf; batteries sold separately in England.
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Are those color-keyed wheels/cover treatments I see? HELL YA. Refreshing to see.
I think Europe includes places with cold and snow, no? How will this pathetic cordless road-vac handle those? Does it have a scaled up "rug/floor" switch.
As a Leaf driver, I can tell you it will need a lot more battery to suffice as a van, for all the reasons mentioned above - climate, weight, and range. But for certain applications, it could be perfect. IMO, all EV mfrs need to be more honest about range variables, or else public acceptance will falter. Unlike an ICE, the EPA numbers can drop by 50% or more depending on conditions. I suspected as much when I got my car - and can live with it - but people expecting the usual EPA minus 10% performance will be angry.
I think at least a gasoline passenger version of the NV200 should be sold here, even though I've only seen one on the road in cargo van form. It could be a nice offering in the market, and hopefully more reliable than the Transit Connect (Nissan has been going downhill reliability-wise lately).