We’ve previously reported about a hearse made from a Tesla Model S, an option created for those who prefer their final car journey to be in an electric car rather than a gasmobile.
Now, that highly specialized sector has gotten another electric option, with a UK funeral home known as Leverton & Sons now offering a Nissan LEAF hearse for its patrons.
The new “Eco Hearse” (a converted Nissan LEAF) has notably lower operating costs than a conventional hearse, as electric vehicles do in general (as compared to ICE vehicles).
It’ll be interesting to see how quickly this idea catches on and takes over the market in the coming years.
Green Car Reports provides more:
The casket is placed on a motorized deck that takes up the entire passenger’s side of the car, meaning the driver essentially sits next to the deceased.
The passenger’s-side doors are replaced with glass, to let bystanders view the casket. A structural beam and airbag sensor were left in place to provide side-impact protection, according to Brahms Electric Vehicles Ltd, which performed the conversion.
Brahms has built three Leaf hearses, selling two while keeping the third as a demonstrator.
All three donor cars were bought used, as the average UK price for a used Leaf with 10,000 miles on its odometer is around one-third the price of a new one, according to Brahms’ Andrew Briggs.
Apparently, the low price of used Nissan LEAFs is a primary factor in the use of the car — with a LEAF hearse costing around £32,000 (~$40,000) as compared to £120,000 ($150,000) for the Mercedes-Benz or Jaguar hearses now common in the UK.
