It seems like 2019 was a good year for Tesla vehicles expanding into the taxi market. In Canada, Kelowna Cabs added a Long Range (LR) Model 3 to their taxi fleet. Current Taxi, also based in Kelowna, expanded to Victoria, BC with up to 15 Tesla’s in the near future. There was also Green Cabs in the US which switched from a hybrid fleet to solely electric with Model 3’s.
Now the streets of Dusseldorf will be filled with Tesla taxi’s as local operator Taxi Norman just added 2 Model S vehicles to it’s fleet, and have placed an order for 50 Model 3’s to arrive early in the new year.
While the initial cost of both the Model S (€105,000, or $153,000 CAD) and the Model 3 (€45,000, or $65,000 CAD) are higher than their typical diesel alternative, Taxi Norman will only be charged about €35 ($50 CAD) to charge each Tesla taxi every month. That compares to a massive €750 ($1,100 CAD) they are currently spending on diesel fuel every month on each of their current taxis.
As others are realizing, with police forces also considering adopting Tesla vehicles as part of their fleets, not only will there be big savings on fuel, maintenance costs will also be much lower. Erol Norman, Managing Director of Taxi Norman told The Bild, “The cars are also much easier to care for. An old car costs us 6,000 euros ($8,700 CAD) a year. The expenses are now gone. We also save on fuel costs through cheaper electricity.”
Taxi Norman currently has a fleet of 150 gas vehicles, and plans to become completely electric by 2023.
