Nissan is working with the car hailing service Uber as it embarks on a new, major electric vehicle (EV) project as part of its commitment to tackling air pollution in London and across the UK.
The carmaker has supplied a fleet of 20 all-electric Nissan LEAFs to Uber for use as part of an extensive EV trial in the capital that gets underway today. It is the first time pure EVs have been available for hire through the Uber app in London.
Run in partnership with the Energy Savings Trust (EST), the study will look into the feasibility of running large numbers of electric private hire vehicles in the UK.
The EST will research the experience, driving patterns and economics of private hire drivers using electric cars and the capacity of London’s current network of charging points to support these vehicles.
Already 60 percent of Uber journeys in London are made in hybrid vehicles, but the company is keen to explore the environmental and economic benefits of going fully electric ahead of the introduction of the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone in 2020.
Nissan forged the EV market in 2010 with the launch of the first generation Nissan LEAF. Fast forward to 2016 and it remains the world’s best-selling EV with more than 230,000 on the road globally. With a focus on bringing Intelligent Mobility solutions to the masses, Nissan recently introduced a new 30 kWh battery model that delivers 26 percent more range versus the previous generation model, and up to 155 miles of driving range on a single charge.
With running costs as low as two penceper mile*, the Nissan LEAF and the larger Nissan e-NV200 Combi have already proved their worth as taxis and private hire vehicles. In fact, hundreds are now in operation in towns and cities, having clocked up tens of thousands of fares and more than three million pure EV miles.
“People already associate Uber with hybrid cars, but we now want to go a big step further with fully electric cars on the road from today,” said Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK. “We are determined to use technology to help tackle the challenge of air pollution in London and across the UK. Our car-sharing service has already saved 1.2 million miles and 211 metric tonnes of CO2. With electric vehicles – and more people sharing their journey and leaving their own cars at home – there’s even more we can do.”
