London Heathrow Airport Adopts 17 All-Electric Nissan LEAFs — Fleet To Be All Fully Electrics Or Plug-In Hybrids By 2020

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The extremely active London Heathrow International Airport, Britain’s largest bustling airport, has chosen the always roomy Nissan LEAF as part of its plans to inspire a new culture of electric car usage across its site.

Initially adopting 17 all-electric LEAFs for its fleet, 12 of the Nissan LEAFs are operated airside by security and baggage teams. The remaining 5 Leafs are used as pool cars.

I suspected immediately this is simply the start. Once they enjoy zero-emissions freedom from fuel costs, the agility, the convenient charging and range of the Nissan LEAF, there is little doubt that more EVs will be flying into the fleets. 

Heathrow’s commitment is apparently just that. Heathrow intends that all cars and small vans in its own fleet will be electric or plug-in hybrid by the end of 2020. As Heathrow is taking many steps to reduce emissions and improve local air quality, the management hopes to set a higher standard for others. The company hopes by introducing the vehicles in highly visible airside roles that other third-party companies will follow suit.

Numerous third parties run thousands of vehicles around the Heathrow campus. Nissan continues, “In all, some 8,000 vehicles are licensed to operate airside at Heathrow and Heathrow is setting ambitious targets to encourage third parties to replace these with zero-emission all-electric vehicles – which will help reduce the airport’s carbon footprint.” Peter Leeming, Head of Operational Strategy at Heathrow, said:

“Through Heathrow 2.0, our plan for sustainable growth, we are aiming to establish Heathrow as a world-leading airport in reducing emissions from all sources of activity. A key part of this is by targeting the conversion of 100% of Heathrow’s cars and small vans to electric or plug-in hybrid by 2020, with ultra-low emission standards for all airside vehicles to follow by 2025. We trialled the Nissan LEAF and found it was the perfect fit for many of our teams and the types of journeys they make. The trial went seamlessly, and within months we placed our order and put the LEAF into full time service.”

Nissan LEAF was one of the first modern EVs, and Nissan is continuously focused on leading the EV market. Even 7 years after the Nissan LEAF was introduced, in 2010, is is earning enough respect of thoughtful buyers to land big fleets deals like this.

Into 2017, Nissan remains at the top of the EV world, with more than 260,000 EVs on the road globally. “With a focus on bringing Intelligent Mobility solutions to the masses, Nissan recently introduced a new 30 kWh battery model that delivers 26 percent more range versus the previous generation model, and up to 155 miles of driving range on a single charge.”

Check out my long-term review of the Nissan LEAF to get a better sense of the vehicle and what it’s like to live with a LEAF.

Check out our new EV report for many more perspectives from other Nissan LEAF, Nissan e-NV200, and EV drivers as well: Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands & Who They Are.

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Cynthia Shahan

Cynthia Shahan, started writing after previously doing research and publishing work on natural birth practices. Words can be used improperly depending on the culture you are in. (Several unrelated publications) She has a degree in Education, Anthropology, Creative Writing, and was tutored in Art as a young child thanks to her father the Doctor. Pronouns: She/Her

Cynthia Shahan has 947 posts and counting. See all posts by Cynthia Shahan