EV & Low CO2 Fleet Show

The EV & Low CO₂ Fleet Show is a one-day event being held at the world-famous Silverstone circuit on Wedneday the 18th April. The event will feature major motor manufacturers who have pioneered the development and production of electric vehicles, including Renault, Nissan, Peugeot and Citroen.

The event is being organised by Fleet World magazine in association with the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association, the trade association of the UK’s leasing and rental industries, with the event being sponsored by the Energy Saving Trust.

If you fancy attending the event, at the Silverstone racing circuit in Northamptonshire, there will be a wide range of electric, hybrid and other low-carbon vehicles that will be available for driving around the famous track.

Ross Durkin, Managing Editor of Fleet World, said: “The show is really starting to take shape now. We’re delighted that four of the motor manufacturers who have really been at the forefront of EV development will be at the event in order to help fleet managers really understand the potential for incorporating electric vehicles onto their fleet”.

The EV & Low CO₂ Fleet Show will allow visitors to:

- Test drive the latest petrol-electric hybrids, diesel-electric hybrids, fuel-cell hybrids and electric range-extenders, as well as many of the latest low-emission petrol and diesel engine vehicles

- Discuss future drivetrain strategies with leading motor manufacturers that attend the event

- Find out more about low-emission light commercial vehicles

- Talk to EV charging point suppliers and recharging infrastructure providers

- Discuss low-carbon vehicle supply with leading vehicle leasing suppliers

For more details on the event you can phone 01727 739160 or visit http://evfleetshow.co.uk/

Nissan LEAF

RCS, a Nottinghamshire based printer, is reducing its transport emissions with fleet of six new Nissan LEAF EVs and using the new ABB rapid charger, this allows the LEAF to be charged to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes. The company is also using solar panels and other energy reduction strategies to reduce their annual energy bill by £78k, thereby charging the LEAFs for free

“The environment forms a key part of our company ethos and our fleet of Nissan LEAFs build on our vision of becoming the UK’s most environmentally friendly printer,” explained Michael Todd, MD of RCS. “The LEAF is the first practical five door, five seat EV on the UK market and our staff have embraced all aspects of the car which is why we kept adding them to our fleet.”

Octavia Green E Line

SKODA has just started road testing the new Octavia Green E Line, their first pure electric vehicle, and is working closely with the Volkswagen Group to gain practical experience with electric propulsion.

The Octavia Green E Line test fleet is based on the Octavia Combi as the chassis from the Combi is ideal for holding the battery, electronic controllers and electric motor. The Octavia Green E line is ideal for inner-city driving and will reach 0-62mph in 12 seconds and onto a top speed of just under 84mph.

The battery pack is situated under the middle and rear floor panel and in part of the boot so is well hidden, allowing the car to seat five adults, plus it has a range of around 93 miles. It takes around 8 hours to fully charge at 230V (single-phase AC) and 2 hours at 400 V (three-phase AC).

In addition to developing its first electric vehicle, SKODA is also continue to bring cars to the market that offer fuel-efficient economical engines with low CO2 emissions. The brand has seven models that manage an average CO2 of less than 100g/km and a total of 63 models that emit less than 130g/km.

If you are interested in finding some of the lowest CO2 cars on the market today, have a go on our Vehicle Type shopper. Just select the type of car (or van) you are looking for and set the range of CO2. You can also see the latest business contract hire (or personal) prices too.

Fisker Karma at Harrods

The world’s first luxury electric vehicle, the Fisker Karma, will take pride of place in the prominent Brompton Road window display at Harrods, Knightsbridge, until the 4th of February.

“Harrods is one of the most prestigious retail sites in the world, which is perfect for our car,” said Henrik Fisker, co-founder and CEO of Fisker Automotive.  “The landmark store attracts hundreds of thousands of customers from all over the world during January, and we look forward to introducing them to the Fisker Karma.”

The Karma is one of the most efficient, low-emission vehicles available today and it can travel from 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds,was recently given an emissions rating of just 51 g/km CO2 and this luxury EV saloon car offers up to 112 mpg. The car also has a range of 50 miles on “electric only” operation with zero emissions. 

If you go to see the car you will be able to take a tour of the vehicle and offered the chance to virtually configure your own model. The 2012 Fisker Karma is already on sale in the United States, priced from $102,000, and will soon be available at dealerships internationally, in the coming weeks.

Following the successful launch of the UK’s first eco motor show Ecovelocity in 2011, the organisers of the ground-breaking show have announced details for the 2012 event. The show will also move from Battersea Power Station to ExCeL, London and will run from May 10^th  through to the  13^th 2012.

Giles Brown, managing director of organisers IGME Ltd commented: “EcoVelocity got off to a fabulous start at Battersea Power Station, and really stood out from other car events.  The show featured 17 of the leading low carbon automotive brands and between them 7,000 test drives were taken during the event by enthusiastic show visitors.”

EcoVelocity 2012 will see car makers showing off their latest green car models including electric, hybrid and very low carbon derivitaves.  The show provides motorists the chance to get up close to the cars and the chance to have test drives on a special test drive circuit.

Kia Ray EV

Kia has just launched the Kia Ray EV, which is their first production electric vehicle, offering a range of up to 86 miles on a single charge. The car is being produced exclusively for the Korean market at this stage and is based on the 1.0-litre petrol Ray CUV.

The EV version is quicker than the petrol equivalent, reaching 0-62mph in 15.9 seconds and a top speed of 81mph, with recharging times taking six hours using a 220V household supply, or just 25 minutes in fast-charge mode. The automatic transmission offers two driving modes while in ”D” drive. ”E” mode (eco mode) gives you minimum battery consumption and maximum driving range and “B” (brake) mode can be selected when driving down a steep hill.

Some of the features of the Ray EV include a unique instrument cluster showing electic motor operation, battery status and distance to recharge. You also get the first ever EV-specific equipped navigation system which provides crucial information on the nearest EV charging stations, as there are only 500 slow/fast recharge stations in Korea currently.

The Kia Ray EV also gets a regenerative braking system, VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control), HAC (Hill Assist Control), VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) plus a VESS (Virtual Engine Sound System), which emits “petrol engine” noises at speeds less than 12mph, to prevent accidents. Kia plans to manufacture around 2,500 Ray EVs which are destined for government departments and public offices.

Kangoo Van Z.E.

Renault has just announced the list of their specialist UK electric vehicle dealers to sell and service their four-model electric vehicle line-up. Twenty one sites have been branded Z.E. Expert and are now live. All the specialist Renault dealer sites have a Kangoo Van Z.E. demonstrator on site for full test drives and also three new Chargemaster E.V. charging points.

The E.V. charging points are located in the workshop, the demonstrator area and car park and there is also a dummy domestic charging point to show customers how to charge the vehicle.

The full list of Z.E. Renault dealers is:

Renault Manchester
Renault Birmingham
Renault Liverpool
Renault Leicester
Renault Cardiff
Renault London West
Renault Enfield
Renault Croydon
Ness Inverness
The Co-operative Bradford
Seward Portsmouth
Donnelly and Taggart, Londonderry
Charles Hurst Belfast
Vospers Plymouth
Motorline Maidstone
Benfield Newcastle
Bristol Street Exeter
Westover Poole
MarshallMilton Keynes
Smiths Peterborough
Toomey Basildon

Nissan LEAF

Siemens has just chosen the Nissan LEAF to become the first electric vehicle on its company car fleet and the three new electric cars join the employee pool vehicles at the engineering company’s Industrial Turbo Machinery business in Lincolnshire. Siemens has also ordered seven more Nissan LEAF’s to be used at other UK locations and is placing the LEAF at the centre of its electric vehicle (EV) fleet plans.

Siemens is also working with Lincoln City Council to install charging solutions across the city and has also installed its own company charging EV point as well. Mark Bonnor-Morris, business development manager of Siemens Mobility and Logistics, Traffic Solutions, said,”We’re moving people between our site in Lincoln and using the Nissan LEAF means we can travel through the city with zero emissions”.

All the cars have been leased over 24 months with a comprehensive service package bolted on. If you are interested in leasing a Nissan LEAF then we have prices on the site now.

SKODA celebrates

SKODA has just celebrated an important milestone with the 1,500,000th Octavia second-generation model rolling off the production line, at the company’s main plant in Mlada Bolesav. The above figure of 1,500,000 does not include the production numbers of the “MingRui” (same car) which is sold in China.

The exact model that rolled off the line was a white Octavia Combi GreenLine version and the Octavia is renowned for its quality, reliability, practicality and price performance ratio. The Octavia comes in many versions including an estate, saloon, as well as all-wheel drive versions and of course the sporty RS. In addition SKODA is developing its electric car mobililty with the Octavia Green E-Line as well.

The Octavia Green E-Line will undergo testing in a matter of weeks with eleven vehicles being used in the Czech Republic to collate real-world data, to further refine the car. Skoda contract hire is on the site now for the current car range.

NV200 EV

FedEx Express and Nissan are about to start trialling a prototype zero-emission all-electric delivery vehicle in extensive real-world testing on London’s streets. The trial is expected to last over two months to see how the vehicle copes with the rigours of daily delivery duties in the capital.

The Nissan NV200 EV prototype uses the same powertrain and battery as the Nissan LEAF electric car and to date, Nissan has sold more than 20,000 Nissan LEAF’s across the globe. The Nissan NV200 EV prototype can be fully charged overnight or up to 80 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes using a Quick Charger.

FedEx Express NV200 electric vehicle

It offers FedEx Express another option to the 43 all-electric vehicles the firm currently uses in London, Paris , New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Memphis, where zero-emission motoring in a dense urban area is required. The Nissan NV200 is ideally suited to the start stop conditions on busy city streets, where poor air quality is a concern, as is the wastage of energy when a vehicle just sits in stationary traffic.

Additional trials are planned for 2012 to mirror the 2011 trial with the Japan Post Serice and Nissan is aiming to become the market leader in providing advanced zero emission technology to both the car and LCV business-to-business markets.

More information on the trial can be found from the link below;

www.nissan-zeroemission.com