Brompton Bicycle turns over new Leaf with Nissan partnership

UK-based folding bike manufacturer Brompton Bicycle has launched a new salary-sacrifice car leasing scheme for employees, with the all-electric Nissan Leaf proving the most popular choice.


Four members of Brompton Bicycle’s 230-strong staff have already taken delivery of their Leaf, with another six still awaiting their cars.

In fact, the LEAF, which costs just two pence per mile to run, has proved so popular that Brompton plans to install a bank of 10 EV charging points to at its new factory when it relocates later this month.

Figures released at the start of 2016 revealed that sales of alternatively-fuelled vehicles (AFVs) rose more than 40% in the UK last year, gaining a largest ever market share of 2.8%. Pure electric vehicles saw an uplift of around 50%.

Brompton’s chief executive Will Butler-Adams said: “The team can choose any car they want through the salary sacrifice scheme but of the five who have taken up the scheme so far, four have opted for the LEAF.

“The Brompton and the Leaf are perfect companions for each other. By itself the Leaf is fantastic but, stick a little bicycle like the Brompton in the boot and it’s awesome.

“We all use a car. If I’m going to travel 80 miles, I’m not going to pedal unless I’m doing it for fun at the weekend. If I’m going to take my children to school, I’m not going to stick them all on a bike and cycle 20 miles – it’s just too far for them.

“But by combining the Leaf and the Brompton I have the most fabulous commute to work. I drive from my home near Maidenhead to the edge of London, where I park all day for free. Then, I lift out my Brompton and cycle the last seven miles to the office along the Grand Union Canal. It’s glorious.”

In September last year, Nissan added a new 30Kwh battery to the Leaf, improving its driving range by 25% to around 155 miles.

And the Japanese carmaker is looking at ways to mitigate one of the main criticisms of electric cars – the amount of scarce resources that are ploughed into the batteries.

In June, Nissan announced that used Leaf batteries would form the basis of commercial energy storage systems, thanks to a partnership with energy storage provider Green Charge Networks.

Brad Allen

 

 

 

 

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