NISSAN’S groundbreaking eNV200 electric van could be the “game-changer” that puts the brand at the forefront of the commercial vehicle market.
That’s the view of the company’s Corporate Sales Director, Jon Pollock, following the groundbreaking model’s full UK debut at the CV Show earlier this month.
And speaking to Nissan Insider, Jon said he’s confident eNV200 can do for Nissan’s presence in the commercial sector what Qashqai did in the passenger car market.
He said: “eNV200 could be the game changer that puts Nissan at the forefront of the commercial vehicle market.
“If we were to gauge potential sales volume in terms of the level of interest we have received then we could be selling thousands rather than hundreds.
“That’s the enormous potential this product has. The technology within eNV200, the carrying capacity, the payload…all of these elements are ahead of our competitors and when we do bring the product to market we will be segment leader.”
As one of the undoubted stars of the CV Show, eNV200 wowed fleet buyers and journalists with everyday practicality every bit as its incredible environmental credentials and efficiency.
And Jon believes that winning combination will see the vehicle find role at the heart of the fleets of many large operators and SMEs.
He added: “The feedback’s been very positive. During testing, people have been impressed by not only the smoothness of the ride, but the pulling capacity of the vehicle, the acceleration and the functionality – for example, there’s no battery intrusion into any part of the cabin or load area.
“Also some of the impressive features of the vehicle have left a positive mark on fleet operators such as the ability for tradespeople to be able to charge tools in the back of the vehicle whether it’s stationary or moving.
Many have been really surprised it could be converted to a chiller vehicle for example, which we do with conventional NV200 – as they don’t expect the battery to be able to cope with that.”
But are commercial vehicle operators ready for electric vehicles on their fleet?
Jon said: “In the commercial vehicle market people will take much less persuading to move to electric vehicles because buyers are looking at ‘fit for purpose’ and don’t have the same emotional attachment as people do with cars.
“It’s about all of the key commercial levers – total cost of ownership, fit for purpose, usability, driver satisfaction. If it meets these key criteria and is available at a competitive price then they’ll buy it.”
Jon added: “Nissan still has an advantage in zero emission products because of the work that’s gone on with LEAF and LEAF’s position within the market.
“People have seen the high reliability of LEAF and the warranty offering we make on LEAF and are reassured by that.”