Success Story - Electric Vehicles Namibia

Save with an electric vehicle

Oiltechnologies Namibia, discovered how to save with an electric vehicle. They are a local company that specializes in recycling used oil and cleaning separator pits They also clean oil spills and give disposal certificates. They had a few problems with their daily staff transport in and out of Windhoek:

1. Staff used to travel in a open bakkie (unsafe)
2. Unauthorised stops and transport of goods. (despite the tracker)
3. Excessive fuel use and wear and tear. (frequent downtime for repairs and services)

So they bought the second Nissan Leaf to be imported to Namibia in February 2018 and still use it daily to commute their staff in and out of Windhoek. The vehicle has been driven through a shack 😱 and had a fairly severe side-swipe collision but has not missed a beat and was able to drive away from both accidents. The parts were ordered at the local Nissan dealer from South Africa without issues.

Here is a very simple cost comparison.

Nissan Leaf Gen 1 pre-owned ex Japan 2011 model 57 000 km	Hyundai H100 2.5D local 2017 model +/- 60 000 km
40 000 km covered in 2.5 years	costs worked on 40 000 km
Total costs N$ 0.90 per km	Total costs N$ 3.50 per km
Electricity used : N$ 11,660.00	Diesel N$ 53,328.00
Maintenance sofar N$ 0.00	Maintenance N$ 14,000.00
Service due 3 yrs/50 000 km	Service due 1 yr/ 10 000 km
Cost of service +/- N$ 1,500.00	Cost of service +/- N$ 3,000.00
Purchase price N$ 100,000.00	Purchase price N$ 230,000.00

We are working on an online ICE vs EV cost comparing tool specific for Namibia but you can find a global one here.

Added bonuses of saving with an electric vehicle?

Front brake pads can last up to 200 000 km due to inertia being converted to electrical power and charged back into the battery
There are fewer moving parts to break so breakdowns are less likely and maintenance is less
EVs emmit about 80% less heat than a ICE vehicle overall, so there is less need touse the air-conditioning
EVs are, despite the general medias efforts to prove otherwise, safer than their ICE equivalents.

You can check out their story by calling Karsten on 081 141 5060.

How will you save with an electric vehicle?

Here is Gideon with the Leaf that he drives for Oiltech. Give him a wave next time you see him on the road!

If you already own any EV, send us your story.