CrestClean electric van a talking point

A CrestClean all-electric van is turning heads in Tauranga.

“Lovin’ our ZERO EMISSION vehicle” is sign-written on the Nissan e-NV200, the van attracting admirers at the city’s Bayfair Shopping Centre.

It’s the first of its type in CrestClean’s vehicle fleet.

Van owner and Tauranga franchisee Jon Moon finds there’s not only benefits from fuel and maintenance savings but the van is a talking point around the city, which must be good for business.

The van has a 120km range and has been topping up its batteries at a fast-charger station in the shopping centre’s carpark.

“Well, that’s great publicity for that company. It’s a very smart looking vehicle,” one Bayfair shopper says.

The e-NV200 can be plugged in at home, and when on the road can use one of the public rapid chargers to get an 80% top up in just 30 minutes.

Its battery has a warranty for five years or 96,000km. It guarantees against the battery dropping below nine of the 12 battery level bars, the van’s equivalent of a fuel gauge.

With a 109hp electric motor providing an instant 254Nm of torque, the van’s performance is brisk. It accelerates faster than a conventional, diesel-powered NV200, the company says.

One of the biggest benefits is its quiet, smooth ride.

The e-NV200 has a cargo capacity of 4.2 cubic metres and can carry up to 770kg.

This has all the bells and whistles, like heated seats and steering wheel to hands-free calling and text messaging and Bluetooth streaming audio.

The cost of electricity to drive 100km can be as little as $2.50.

No road user charges apply and maintenance is minimal.

Even the brake pads wear slower as the motor does about half of the braking while regenerating power into the battery, the company says.

The e-NV200 was the best-selling electric van in Europe in 2016.

Prices for a two-year-old Nissan e-NV200 van start at about $21,000.