Hyundai's New Ioniq Range
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Electric Vehicles and believe that they're a future that's arriving rapidly.
Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so.
If you'd been asked just a few weeks ago "What is the most valuable car manufacturer in the world?" (as measured by stock market valuation) the answer would have been Toyota.
Now it's Tesla.
In fact, Tesla is now worth more than the next five car manufacturers combined!
I believe that there are three primary criteria for an electric vehicle to become mainstream in Australia.
On the road cost to be less than $50K. Closer to $40K would seal the deal.
A range of at least 400 km. Closer to 500 km would be better.
There's a lot to like about the 2019 second-generation Nissan Leaf. But is it enough to convince an Uber driver to swap to an EV?
To me, one of the most attractive things about the new second-generation Leaf, Nissan's latest venture into the EV market is that it doesn't look like an electric vehicle.
It doesn't look like its design criterion was to come up with something that looks really quirky and your colour choices aren't restricted to hot pink or fluorescent green. In fact, it looks just like an attractive, up market, highly spec'd, regular hatchback that just happens to be a totally quiet high performer with zero emissions.
But is it enough to convince you to switch from internal combustion to electric?
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
Nissan Leaf
Like it or not, there's an EV (Electric Vehicle) in your future. Perhaps your very next car, perhaps the one after that.
For EVs to take off in Australia, we need at least two of these things to happen:
A car to arrive, almost certainly from Japan or Korea, that fires our imagination and that also has a range between charges of a comfortable 500 kms.