Nissan sets £2 Challenge with e-NV200

The idea behind the £2 Challenge is to take an all-electric Nissan e-NV200 van and use it as much as possible on a budget of only two British Pounds. This would be equivalent to taking the van here in the United States and seeing how car you can get on about $3.20. As it turns out, that will get you a long way.

Teh Ergro Group, which has a fleet of about 35 vehicles headquartered in Dartford, UK, has taken up the challenge. Ergro is a building maintenance and services engineering company. The e-NV200 will be put into service in the company's air conditioning service group, which services the heating and air conditioning systems of buildings throughout London.

The first day of the £2 Challenge had Ergro engineer Charlie Morgan taking a fully-loaded e-NV200 van from the Dartford base into central London. He did a full day's worth of service calls and returned back to base. All on less than two pounds' worth of electricity. In fact, he'd only used £1.20 worth of the £2 charge put in the van.

The new e-NV200 is based on the Nissan NV200 – International Van of the Year 2010 – and utilizes the proven technology of the record breaking Nissan LEAF. Companies that have relatively small territorial routes in urban areas are flocking to the electric van as a solution to their cost problems and for the environmental credibility it gives. Lower maintenance costs are also a big draw.