TEESDALE’S MP Helen Goodman has hit out at a motor manufacturer after her electric car “conked out” on the way to Barnard Castle.
Mrs Goodman branded it a “serious breach” of consumer rights and accused manufacturers of the “systematic mis-selling” of her Nissan Leaf after it ran out of charge on the A67 near the Westwick turn off on her way home from Darlington.
She shared her worries in the Commons last week telling how the electric car gave up the ghost 14 miles into a 17 mile journey – despite the car displaying a range of 22 miles when she set off.
“Not only was I extremely inconvenienced by this, but it was extremely dangerous, because somebody else could have driven into the car,” she said.
The MP was helped by a passerby and given a lift but had to pay £150 for her Nissan’s recovery.
Ms Goodman also hit out at the car’s charging speed for increasing her range by eight miles after half an hour.
She added: “That is pathetic by anybody’s standards. That is just not what one would expect.”
After buying the car in October, Ms Goodman said she was told it had a range of 125 miles which she thought would allow her to drive from Teesdale to Newcastle on one charge.
However, when she bought the Leaf, she told parliament it was charged up to “only 75 miles”.
Ms Goodman added: “I said this is 30 per cent less efficient. It is like buying a box of six eggs, but finding when you open the box that there are only four eggs.
“This is really not acceptable.”
A spokesman for Nissan said: “Differences between certified and ‘real world’ driving range will depend on various factors such as driver style, the road layout and weather conditions – the same type of factors that affect fuel consumption in vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
“The new 2018 Nissan Leaf is the first electric vehicle to transition to WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure) which is a more realistic way to measure the range of vehicles.
“The new Leaf is communicated with both a 235 mile New European Driving Cycle range and a 168-mile WLTP range. Nissan fully supports the adoption of this customer-focused measurement, and we will clearly explain to our customers the difference between the two measurements.”
