The Neils & Kraft car dealership recently delivered the first electric smart in Giessen. The small car is now part of the fleet of Stadtwerke Gießen, which will use it for journeys in the city and the surrounding area.
Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) wants to know exactly how well electric cars perform in everyday use. This is why SWG has added a smart fortwo electric drive from the new model series to its fleet - the first model to be delivered by the Neils & Kraft dealership in Giessen. At the beginning of November, Michael Heilmann, Head of Car Sales at Neils & Kraft, and Marcello Liut, smart salesman at Neils & Kraft, handed over the city runabout to Ina Weller, company spokeswoman at SWG, and Klaus Etzelmüller, Head of Technical Services at SWG. "We are delighted that Stadtwerke Gießen is getting involved in electromobility and showed an interest in the smart early on," emphasises Marcello Liut.
With the purchase of the electric vehicle, SWG is also joining the "Club 100", which was co-founded by Neils & Kraft. "The aim of the 'Club 100' is to bring together eco-pioneers from Central Hesse who act as role models in terms of holistic, environmentally-orientated thinking and action. Every buyer of a smart fortwo electric drive automatically receives membership because they are committed to climate-friendly mobility in the region," explains Michael Heilmann.
"As an energy company, we fulfil this pioneering role in Central Hesse in many areas. And we also deal with the topic of electromobility as a matter of course. However, the timing was and is important to us, because it is part of our strategy not to just blindly follow a trend. We now want to gain experience in the everyday use of electric vehicles and share this experience with our customers," explains Ina Weller.
Use on short journeys
From SWG's point of view, vehicles such as the Elektro-smart have now reached market maturity and are particularly suitable for short journeys. Klaus Etzelmüller explains what the small car is intended for: "We will mainly be testing the car in Giessen and the surrounding area on the numerous errands and factory trips that are scheduled every day. Thanks to its motorisation, range and size, the vehicle is ideally designed for this." A 55 kilowatt (kW) electric motor powers the smart and the battery has a capacity of 17.6 kilowatt hours (kWh). That is enough for around 120 kilometres.
Naturally, electric motors do not emit pollutants such as carbon dioxide. However, experts repeatedly point out that the use of electric vehicles only makes sense in terms of climate protection if the batteries are not charged with electricity from nuclear or coal-fired power plants. SWG in Giessen has created the conditions for this, explains Ina Weller: "Thanks to 'Giessen green electricity', which we supply to all private customers and also use ourselves, our electric smart is 100 per cent nuclear-free."
Sharing experiences with interested parties
Within a maximum of seven hours - i.e. overnight - the batteries of the electric smart can be charged at a standard socket using "Giessen green electricity". In the morning, the city runabout is then available to SWG employees again. Charging is much faster with a connection with higher power. Additionally equipped with a so-called 22 kW wall box, it is possible to charge the empty battery within an hour.
Klaus Etzelmüller is convinced that the small car is suitable for the intended purpose simply because of its short length and width. "In tight city traffic and when looking for a parking space, the electric smart scores points anyway. But that's also where the diesel or petrol models excel. Now all of us at Stadtwerke Gießen are looking forward to the experience with the alternative drive." SWG will report on these experiences and inform interested parties from the region.