NICE is the leading independent retailer for electric vehicles.

In July 2006 the NICE Car Company was born. Founded by former-Lotus colleagues Julian Wilford and Evert Geurtsen, NICE made its debut at the British International Motor Show. The stylish Mega City, the company’s first car, was presented to more than 400,000 eager ExCeL visitors.

NICE signalled the start of a shake-up in the auto industry. Car makers had dallied with electric cars since the turn of the 20th century, but NICE recognised the zeitgeist. The electric car’s time had finally arrived.

Since launching the company, the automotive picture has changed. For some, within and outside the industry, the electric revolution has been sudden and unforeseen. For many it is unwelcome. But the change has real political momentum and the business case for all-electric cars, vans and trucks has never been clearer.

The world caught up with the NICE vision. Electric vehicles have won the technology war and, as the company grows, customers across Europe are set to reap the benefits.

The political tide

Biofuels, hydrogen, hybrids and electric cars; two years ago the drive to sustainable motoring seemed to be wrapped up in a host of competing technological endeavours.

Then in March 2008 two influential reports were published. The King Review shaped policy maker’s thoughts about sustainable motoring in the 21st century. Its author said that road transport could only achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions if industry, consumers and government turned to electric and hybrid vehicles en masse. Government took notice.

Last month the prime minister added his weight to the electric revolution, announcing an increase in renewable energy supplied to the national grid. Renewables would form 15 per cent of the mix by 2020, he said, as part of the government’s renewable energy strategy. He added that greater take-up of electric and hybrid vehicles would be key to achieving carbon reduction targets.

It was a message with echoes of an influential WWF report, also published in March. Called Plugged In: The End of the Oil Age, it pointed out the benefits of all-electric cars, even with the current energy mix. But also their potential for the future:

“despite those wretched power plant efficiencies and the fact that powertrain technology is relatively immature, the battery electric vehicle can be over 60 per cent more efficient than today’s conventional ICE (internal combustion engine) across the plant to wheel life cycle” – p 86

“Electric vehicles need not wait for the coming renewable energy revolution, though they will automatically reap the rewards when that does happen.” – p91

Mainstream car companies have started queuing up to reveal plans for all-electric models. More and more will be coming to market, they claim, either in 2010, 2011 or 2012. But few can sell cars to customers today.

For the NICE Car Company though, the dawn of mass-market, all-electric motoring was something for which the company had prepared and planned.

Today there is no other company offering the range of vehicles – cars, vans and motorcycles - that NICE Car Company can supply. Three global launches in London reflect the continued drive to be market leaders and the hub for electric motoring in the UK. And soon, across Europe too.