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Electric vehicles make commercial debut in SA as Nissan unveils Leaf

The Nissan Leaf
Charging the Nissan Leaf
A home-charging station (left) and a Nissan dealer charging station

A promotional video on the Nissan Leaf, produced and made by Nissan SA

The Nissan Leaf

Photo by Nissan

Charging the Nissan Leaf

Photo by Nissan

A home-charging station (left) and a Nissan dealer charging station

Photo by Nissan

22nd November 2013

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Sales of electric cars should pick up once more such vehicles become available on the South African market, said Nissan South Africa (SA) chief marketing manager Ross Garvie, on Thursday, as the local arm of the Japanese car company launched the country’s first fully electric vehicle (EV).

It was expected that the Nissan Leaf would be followed by the Volkswagen electric Golf and the BMW i3 next year.

Garvie did not want to “place a peg in the ground” as to how many Leafs Nissan SA would sell, saying only that the company would be able to cater for demand.

Government, corporates, the taxi-cab and rental markets, and environmentally conscious individuals were expected to make up the bulk of Leaf buyers.

The Leaf sold for R446 000, with electricity to charge the vehicle to its full range of 195 km costing R22 500 over a six-year period, said Garvie. Maintenance costs over the same period, outside the 90 000 km/3-year service plan and 100 000 km/3-year warranty (which included the lithium-ion battery), was set at R1 500. (The battery made up 40% of the vehicle’s production cost.)

As there was no internal combustion engine, which meant no fluids, such as oil, and components such as spark plugs, maintenance costs were much less compared with a standard vehicle, he added.

Service intervals were 15 000 km, or once a year.

Insurance costs on the Leaf would also typically be less than other on cars, said Garvie, as the profile of the typical Leaf driver was that of a less risky driver, living in a more upscale area where there was a smaller risk of theft.

“[Any hijacker] can also only go 200 km before the vehicle would need recharging,” quipped Garvie.

The total cost of mobility for the Leaf over six years would be R470 000, he added, compared with R484 000 for a petrol vehicle of the same size and capacity, and R505 000 for a hybrid.

There was no government tax break or other incentive to buy the Leaf, as was the case in most countries where EVs had been rolled out.

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said earlier this year that his department would present a South African EV roadmap, which also placed emphasis on local manufacture, to Cabinet for approval before the end of next year.

The roadmap would include standards for the industry, and place emphasis on government’s acquisition of electric vehicles.

PHASED APPROACH
As the Leaf was new technology introduced to the local market, the first phase of the vehicle’s roll-out would be in Gauteng only, with sales at seven dealers in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

“We want to start small and grow organically. We have no illusions about this being a volume seller. We will try and establish the credibility of electric vehicles first,” said Garvie.

Charging stations in the first phase would be available at Nissan dealerships, with a smart phone app telling Leaf owners where the nearest charging station was located.

Charging at home, typically overnight, took seven hours from empty, with a quick charge at dealers taking 15 to 20 minutes to reach 80% capacity.

The second phase of the Leaf’s roll-out would be in Durban and Cape Town next year, moving dealers selling the EV to between 10 and 15.

A pilot project with energy provider Eskom had already been rolled out, with the potential impact on the national grid negligible.

The question around electricity supply for EV mobility had become pertinent as Eskom declared an electricity emergency this week, with the country’s energy demand exceeding supply.

“You would need 10 000 to 20 000 EVs in one area, such as Sandton, to have an impact on the grid,” noted Garvie. “And we won’t get there in the next ten years.”

As with the lack of incentives, government was also not providing charging infrastructure.

However, said Garvie, local vehicle manufacturers were negotiating with government on charging infrastructure roll-out incentives.

“We are waiting for a third party to come out here and say this is a good business opportunity. The EV industry would depend on that.”

Garvie said Nissan was in talks with an interested party on this matter.

Nissan was also looking at locating a local partner that would provide a second life to the Leaf’s battery once it came to an end, at around ten years.

After this period it should, however, still be able to operate at 80% capacity, finding use in many other applications, said Garvie.

He added that Nissan would be able to buy the battery from Leaf owners at the end of its life, and then sell it on to a third party.

ENGINEERING NEWS DRIVES THE LEAF
Driving the Leaf for short distances of around 20 km to 30 km does not create the much-dreaded range anxiety associated with EVs.

In Eco mode the vehicle steadily, predictably counts the kilometres down to recharging.

The Leaf is big and spacious enough to seat five adults, with a generous boot for sports bags and other luggage that come with having a family.

The drive is comfortable, with the Leaf equipped with most modern luxuries drivers have come to expect from a vehicle of its size.

With Eco mode switched off, the Leaf is helluva nippy, and eager to deliver its 254 Nm of torque.

However, watch the range in normal mode if you are heavy on the accelerator, and also on the highway. The Leaf is ultimately best suited to urban, city driving.

Driving the Leaf well ‘rewards’ the driver with the building of a small, electronic tree in the instrument cluster, with leafs continuously added for eco-minded driving.

Launched in late 2010, the Leaf has sold 87 000 units worldwide and travelled around 500 000 km with zero tailpipe emissions in the process.

In the last month alone, 10 000 units were sold.

 

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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