Nissan produce e cars

[NRG]

There's a good Wiki entry on Hydrogen Fuel cell issues, still a long way to go...

Hydrogen vehicle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[eTim]

So assuming £16K base model for someone wanting to commute up to 50 miles a day:

6 months petrol approx 6000 miles x £price of petrol at today's £1.20 = £720
6 months battery = £30 ?

12 months petrol approx 12,000 miles = £1440
12 months battery = £60

18 months petrol approx 18,000 miles = £2,160
18 months battery range drops below 50 miles, needs a charge at work = £120

and so on to year three when the total petrol cost approx £4,500
Battery range has dropped to 20 miles so won't get to work and needs a replacement at £4K replacement.

So over 3 years in terms of fuel used it will just be more economical and assuming petrol shoots up, then even more economical.

BUT what does the owner do at year 3, renew battery or attempt to sell at massive depreciation because it needs a new battery.

Answer: wait until 2016, buy a 3 year old bargain and enjoy extremely cheap motoring for up to 50 mile range.

What battery warranty will be provided with these cars?

 

[flecc]

Nissan I believe are intending to have LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries on it, and both BYD and Chevrolet on their hybrids say they should last ten years! Time will tell, but I think the warranty will have to be at least three years and probably more for buyers to come out of the woodwork.

There is certainly no economic case for having an e-car, but some will buy on environmental grounds just because they can. I settled for a £6,000 Chevvy Matiz when I couldn't find a suitable small town e-car two years ago, but I was prepared to pay around £14,000 for the likes of the Mitsubishi i-car e-version if it hadn't been put back yet again, three years running:

 

[Cyclezee]

The Kia Forte Hybrid (electric/LPG) would suit me ideally, Kia Forte hybrid | First Drives | Car Reviews | Auto Express if it ever makes it's way to the UK.
I clock up 25k miles a year and have been a fan of LPG for years, having owned 3 dualfuel cars and a van to date.
Still seriously considering a Prius despite the negative publicity, but currently, the economics don't add up against my Merc A180 CDi which daily returns 50+ mpg on my commute, and you can't put a towbar on a Prius

J hn

 

[Ultra Motor]

Hey,

I think this is a great thing, its about time a mainstream manufacturer got involved.

Mitsubishi have been building their iMiEV for a few months now, and is a fab car. I have driven it a few times, right up to the 84mph top speed and boasts a range of up to 80 miles. However, as with all new technology retail is around £30k. As with the Nissan you can give it an overnight charge for a 3 pin plug or get 80% capacity in 30 mins through a fast charge 3 phase charge (Nissan offers the same).

Nissan are talking about leasing batteries, as are Smart, Think and many others. This is a great idea and takes the worries about battery lifetime away.

All in all, really positive news and I think its great to see something like this being built in the UK. We don't see enough UK built products.