SWITCHING MY TAXI TO ELECTRIC: I WISH I’D DONE IT YEARS AGO

Brian Marnie, a self-employed driver for Tele & Handys Taxis of Balgray Place, Dundee was the first driver to own a fully electric wheelchair access taxi in the Tayside & Fife area after receiving a Nissan e-NV200 from the electric vehicle specialist, Vic Young Ltd, in January 2020.

With Dundee being a pioneering city for reducing carbon emissions and recently building the first charging hub station for electric cars – Mr Marnie looks to have made a wise investment, especially considering the benefits of possessing an electric car for business purposes:

• £0 company car tax (benefit in kind)
• £0 congestion charges
• £0 fuel costs
• 8 year / 100k battery warranty

Battery range

Powered by a 40kWh lithium-ion battery, the zero-emission wheelchair access taxi purchased from Vic Young Ltd in South Shields – North East England has a range of up to 124 - 187 miles on a single charge. Drivers can also have peace of mind knowing that the battery has an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty.

After driving the 100% electric Nissan e-NV200 for over a month, Brian Marnie said: "The taxi is great. I wish I could have bought one years ago as I will be saving a fortune on fuel and service costs. My concerns with regards to charging anxiety were totally unfounded- the fear was greater than the reality. I've never had an issue with the vehicle running flat. Vic Young showed me the savings- the man was right. Customers love the drive compared to diesel; a smooth, quiet drive compared to diesel; plus the fact that I have done my bit for the environment. A lot of Dundee Taxi Operators have shown a keen interest in the vehicle."

Charging times

Rapid chargers in public locations such as supermarkets and service stations will charge the electric wheelchair access vehicle from 20% battery to 100% in approximately 45-60 minutes. An installed ‘fast home charger of 7kW’ will charge the vehicle to 100% battery in 7.5 hours. It can also be charged via a typical 3-pin mains plug in 11-18 hours. Averagely, the cost per electric car mile is 4.78p.

Vic Young, managing director of Vic Young Conversions, said: “Providing electric vehicles to Scotland is a great achievement for us. I firmly believe the market is ready to go all-electric with vehicles for trade and industry. As an added bonus for Dundee taxi drivers, Transport Scotland’s electric vehicle interest free loan goes up to £35,000, covering the cost of a new fully electric/plug-in hybrid vehicle.”

Electric commercial vehicles

North East motor dealer - Vic Young Conversions has created a range of fully-electric vehicles suitable for commercial use to meet demand from urban businesses and traders created by the UK government-backed zero carbon agenda:

• Electric Box Van
• Electric Wheelchair Access Taxi
• Electric Drop side Tipper
• The First Electric MG Car

Congestion charges

Until now, unless drivers worked in London they weren’t concerned about congestion charges. However with an increased number of key cities such as Birmingham, Bristol and Newcastle Upon-Tyne just launching, or with plans to soon launch clean air zones, the £0 congestion and clean air zone charge for electric vehicles may potentially become critical for businesses looking to reduce vehicles costs.

A typical lightweight commercial van would amount to £100 a day in clean air zone charge and an additional £11.50 a day congestion charge. Multiply that by 5 days a week / 52 weeks a year and the annual costs for a single vehicle are staggering. The potential savings of driving an electric car are enormous.

About Vic Young (South Shields) Ltd:
Vic Young (South Shields) Ltd is an award-winning car dealership in the North East that has been trading for over 40 years and specialises in manufacturing a range of fully-electric vehicles suitable for commercial use to meet demand from urban businesses and traders created by the UK government-backed zero carbon agenda.

For more information visit: http://www.vicyoung.co.uk/