THE Taxi Centre – one of the UK’s leading suppliers of cars to the taxi industry – has taken delivery of its first batch of 100 percent electric Nissan LEAFs as it predicts a major surge in demand for the market-leading model during 2017.
The Glasgow-based company – part of Vertu Motors plc – has taken an initial batch of 15 LEAFs but forecasts making more than 100 sales in the next 12 months and more than 300 the year after.
Allan McGinness, General Manager at The Taxi Centre, said: “The LEAF has a proven track record in service with taxi operators large and small across the UK and can really help them achieve massive savings.
“We’ve been waiting for the right electric vehicle for the taxi industry and we’re convinced the LEAF is that vehicle.”
There are currently more than 200 Nissan EV taxis in operation across Britain, with dozens more on order and many taxi companies and local authorities taking steps to replace diesel and petrol equivalents with cleaner and cheaper EV alternatives.
Last year it was revealed that more than three million UK taxi miles had been clocked up in all-electric Nissan taxis. Had the same distance – equivalent to six journeys to the moon and back or 120 times around the world – been covered in the diesel vehicles the Nissan EVs replaced, it would have cost an estimated £350,000 in fuel.
However, with average running costs of just two pence per mile, covering three million miles in the LEAF would have cost around £60,000 – a massive saving of £290,000.
With zero tailpipe emissions, the model would also contribute to improving air quality in the towns and cities in which they operate.
