Editor’s Blog: reaction to blog 536 on electric cars
READER Ben Rose has responded to my last blog on electric cars: Electric cars fail to spark business interest. This is what Ben has to say:
In many respects, European Car of the Year (COTY) judging could be deemed similar to deciding where the World Cup will be hosted next. In the case of FIFA, they’re judging proposed entries from different countries based upon infrastructure, even stadiums, that haven’t been built yet.
In the case of COTY, they often have a shortlist of vehicles that aren’t even in production yet. Nissan hadn’t delivered the car to a single customer and it still won the award – impressive. Even more odd when you consider that this car won’t be built in the UK until 2013.
Range is indeed a big issue here, with the first Nissan LEAF owner in the world claiming it’s only good for 60 highway miles with some air conditioning use. That’s a range of just 30 miles from base. When it’s colder and the cabin heater is required, range is expected to be less than with air conditioning. Fine for just popping to the supermarket but quite poor for a car for which Nissan is charging