victorian electric vehicle trial mid-term report - Department of Transport

WORKPLACE CHARGING CASE STUDYVICTORIAN EV TRIAL HOUSEHOLD PARTICIPANTOne household participant supplied with a Nissan LEAF had a workplace commute of around 40 kilometreseach way. Their normal vehicle was a current model Volkswagen Golf GTI, for which the Nissan LEAF is areasonable comparison for assessment of EV acceptance. Prior to commissioning of their workplace chargingoption they described the vehicle as being a pleasure to drive, but significantly limited by the available rangewith a home charging option alone –‘It prevented me from doing anything more than simply driving to and from home, which has meant that most of thetime I left the vehicle for my wife to drive’.Following commissioning of the workplace charging option, the participant said their perception of the EV hadbeen transformed –‘I don’t have to worry at all about range now… it’s just like a normal car’.Further assessment of the costs and benefits revealed some interesting findings. Based upon the reported fueleconomy figure for the Golf GTI, this household participant would spend around $45 per week on fuel costs fortheir commute alone (using petrol priced at $1.40/L). When asked as to what they would be prepared to pay forthe workplace charging option, the participant was of the opinion that the service should either be free or nomore than the cost of the electricity supplied under a commercial tariff (which is likely to be cheaper than theirresidential tariff). Under a commercial tariff the cost of the electricity consumed by workplace charging of theirLEAF can be approximated as $5.50 per week, which would be in addition to the $9 per week they would pay fortheir home charging contribution to the commute (assuming $0.25/kWh for GreenPower).This suggests that even if required to meet the electricity costs of their workplace charging use, the trialparticipant would save around $30 per week on transport energy costs from their commute as compared totheir Golf GTI, or nearly $1,400 across the working year (46 weeks).CREATING A MARKET 77