HSBC Bank Malta trial-tested a battery electric vehicle (BEV) as part of the EU Life+ project Demo EV. The project, managed by the Transport Ministry, aims to promote better awareness of electric vehicles in Malta by offering such cars for trial drives, gathering data on their performance, giving information to the public and installing a country-wide EV charging network.
HSBC tested a Renault Fluence ZE for two months. During this time, the bank gave as many people as possible, particularly staff members, the opportunity to view the car and enjoy a quiet ride. The car travelled over 2,500 kilometres during the trial period. Around 100 people took up the invitation, ranging from adults with children to professional engineers and motor mechanics. They commented positively about the car’s lack of emissions and noise, its comfortable drive and powerful performance.
According to statistics collated by HSBC during the trial period, the electric vehicle travels a maximum distance of around 130km on full charge and takes around 10 hours to fully recharge the batteries when plugged to a domestic socket outlet. The batteries charge much faster if plugged to one of 100 charging points around Malta and Gozo.
“It takes 22kWh of electricity to fully charge the batteries. Costs work out at 0.027c/km to run compared to 0.117c/km for my 900cc petrol car – savings of almost 80 per cent,” said an HSBC staff member who test-drove the car.
CO₂ emissions for electrical power to charge the car equate to 113g/km compared to 150g/km for an equivalent petrol car, and the EV’s carbon footprint will go even lower with planned upgrades in power generation. This disproves a common myth that EVs have a carbon footprint equivalent to an internal combustion engine car.
“HSBC has always been at the forefront of sustainability, reducing its carbon footprint by more than 25 per cent over the past six years. Demo EV is another initiative the bank supports, together with the government’s target of putting 5,000 EVs on Maltese roads by 2020,” said HSBC Malta CEO Mark Watkinson.
www.electricvehiclesmalta.eu