e-LCV leasing costs lower than diesel for first time
The all-inclusive monthly leasing costs for an electric light commercial vehicle across Europe have dropped below the equivalent figures for a diesel van for the first time, according to Voltia.
The Slovakia-based manufacturer, which builds e-LCVs on the Nissan eNV200 platform, worked in partnership with Arval, LeasePlan and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions to find the ideal duration and mileage of a lease that would overcome the price barrier that has slowed fleet uptake of electric vans.
Longer lease term
By structuring the lease over six years and 120,000km (72,000 miles), the leasing companies were able to create a monthly total cost of ownership (TCO) below €550*, which included the cost of recharging batteries, insurance and maintenance. The TCO of an equivalent diesel van, with insurance and maintenance, would be €300 to €350 per month, plus an additional €250 to €300 for fuel, based on driving 2,000km per month.
Juraj Ulehla, CEO of Voltia, said: “To be adopted, new technology needs to be not only cleaner and more reliable, but also cheaper than existing technology. This is especially true in the highly competitive segment of e-commerce logistics, which operates with narrow profit margins (2-5%) and is very cost sensitive and risk averse. Our goal was to make electric LCVs more affordable throughout Europe and the world with the support of our partners from leasing sector.”
Greater reliability
Extending the lease contract to 72 months enables the leasing companies to amortise the higher price of the Voltia over a longer period, while the manufacturer’s own historical data indicates that e-LCVs have greater reliability and longer lifespans than diesel-powered vans. Voltia provides a five-year, 100,000km warranty for the vehicle and its components, and its 40kW battery is covered for eight years and 160,000km.
The Nissan e-NV200 XL Voltia is a converted version of the Nissan eNV200, with a larger loadspace of either 6m3 or 8m3 – the larger van has walk-in rear doors, so drivers do not have to bend over when accessing the cargo area. Its maximum payload is 580kg and it has a range of about 200km. Voltia e-vans are already operating in large urban environments, in cities such as London, Paris, Nice, Dortmund, Tallinn and Bratislava.
- The actual cost varies slightly from country to country.
Image: Nissan
