Electric vehicle demand at record high
DEMAND for EVs is now at a record high in Ireland with hundreds of consumers putting down deposits to snap up the new Nissan LEAF without even visiting a showroom to see or test drive the car. And with more fast-charge points being created, demand is only set to increase. Most mainstream manufacturers now have electric vehicles and hybrids in production or at the very least in adanced planning.
And whether you are looking for something fuctional and funky or sleek and stylish, there is plenty of choice coming on to the market place as an increasing number of us are lured away from petrol and diesel power. The pace of change may be too slow for some, but change is happening.
Nissan is a good example of this and has taken over 200 online deposits in Ireland for the new LEAF - which costs from €26,290 for the entry grade model to €32,600 for the top of the range model - in just four weeks while a staggering 2,500 Irish consumers have registered their online interest in buying the car over the past 12 weeks. In Europe as a whole 20,000 orders have been placed for the model.
‘The demand for this car is simply phenomenal. We are selling it before it has even hit the showroom floor. We sold 400 LEAFs in our best ever year and we are now on track to eclipse that record in April. There is no question that we are at an inflection point and we expect to sell 1,000 LEAFs in 2018,’ said James McCarthy, CEO of Nissan Ireland.
Nissan said that the unprecedented demand for the new LEAF - which has just been awarded the accolade of World Green Car at the New York International Motor Show - is being driven by the fact that its range on a single charge has increased by 50% to 378 kilometres (NEDC) and by a growing awareness amongst Irish householders that switching to the car can save them at least €1,350 per annum in fuel and road tax costs.
Government incentives including the SEAI purchase grant of €5,000, the additional €7,000 SEAI grant for taxi drivers, the introduction of 0% BIK on company vehicles and the environmental benefits of switching to a 100% electric car are also influencing consumers, according to Nissan.
‘Consumers are conscientiously weighing up whether the car can save them money. The facts are driving demand. They are at least €1,350 a year better off for driving the 100% electric Nissan LEAF,’ said Mr. McCarthy.
‘The increased range of the new Nissan LEAF and the fact that it does not require petrol or diesel to run it has given consumers the confidence to look beyond driving a conventional car or hybrid. Consumers seeking a 100% electric solution now recognise that an average hybrid consumes 3.4 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, which is about the same as a typical mid-range diesel car,’ he added.
Nissan said that it was not surprised by the incredible online response or by the rate at which consumers were placing online deposits to buy the car having introduced the option to do so on the www.nissan.ie website for the launch of the new Nissan LEAF.
The all new Nissan LEAF offers a significant update over the previous models with a higher battery capacity, dynamic new styling and advanced technologies including ProPILOT and the Nissan e-Pedal function, which allows drivers to start from a standstill, accelerate and brake and even bring the car to a controlled stop by using the throttle pedal.
ProPILOT is a revolutionary driver assistance technology designed for motorway use. It combines steering assist, acceleration and braking that can help the driver workload in heavy motorway traffic and long commutes. The ProPILOT system uses a radar sensor that detects the vehicle ahead and a forward-facing camera that detects lane markers.
ProPILOT Park is a hands off, feet off automatic parking function that works with parallel and bay parking (forwards or backwards entry). It will easily park the new Nissan LEAF when the driver selects one of the spots proposed by the system. By pressing the ProPILOT Park button, the car will fully manage the parking actions and automatically apply the parking brake when the manoeuvre is complete.