Megacities and EV’s

I recently looked into what it would take to own a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt/Ampera in a city.  I live in the centre of Oxford in the UK and have a membership of a car sharing organisation (Commonwheels) which has a number of cars just nearby.  I have done a lot of research into EV’s as part of my involvement in Oxford YASA Motors spinout of Oxford University and an ongoing involvement in composites through Formtech which are quite relevant to weight saving in this sector.

Many of the market predictions on EV uptake reference Megacities and the likihood of a change in usage habits driving growth in the market.  However, it is quite difficult for me to own an EV.

I test drove the Nissan Leaf and much to my surprise, it was, just like a normal car!  I think I was mostly surprised that I should be surprised.  It had plenty of power off the line, had good build quality, did everything a normal car does and had plenty of extra electronic gadgets that go with EV such as SatNav with predicted ranges and other handy tools for managing range aniexty.

The big problem is charging an EV at home when you have a terrace house in the inner city!  There are currently no schemes for on street charging in Megacities.  Plenty of solutions for people with big houses, garages and off street parking, but not what I would call the areas that may drive EV growth.

As always, new innovations come from solving problems and this looks like the next peice of the puzzle that needs to be solved before I could look at EV in the centre of a city.

Published by markandrewpreston

Demonstrating his exceptional skills in engineering and design, alongside evident drive and business acumen, Mark Preston went from a degree in Mechanical Engineering and working for GM and Spectrum Racing Cars, to obtaining key roles in both the Arrows and McLaren F1 teams, and then creating the Super Aguri F1 team in just 100 days. Now the Team Principal of Team Aguri Formula E racing in the second season of the FIA Formula E championship. Completing his MBA at Oxford in 2006, Mark has also worked with Oxford University researchers who’ve benefited from his expertise in composites and high-tech design: he has consulted in commercializing spin outs from their research in marine energy and electric motor technology. Such developments of his management skills in and beyond the realm of motorsports shows Mark to be an exceptional team player and innovator, ideally placed to manage and motivate workforces. Together, his skills and experience combine to ensure that Mark delivers first-class business planning and start-up advice covering technical due diligence, operations management, and more – offering as he does a unique balance of commercial and technical understanding, achievement and ability.

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