Electric Taxis: Good for the Climate and Company Balances

Diesel prices bring tears to the eyes of taxi and rental car operators when refueling. The gasoline prices for hybrid refueling have also risen sharply, and electricity costs are currently increasing. Because the high price level of fuels is here to stay, the federal government could indeed bring about a rapid change in propulsion systems through the long-term elimination of the EEG surcharge on electricity costs. The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars e.V. (BVTM) aims to support this with its "Federal eTAXI Plan." It plans to convert 80 percent of the more than 50,000 taxis and rental cars in Germany to pure electric operation over the next 8 years using €390 million in funding and supporting measures.

Due to the many kilometers driven, especially in urban areas, this could make a significant contribution to climate protection in the field of mobility, and e-taxis could serve as multipliers for new propulsion systems. After all, every taxi customer is a test customer. "What works in taxis works everywhere, so we can take the fear of electromobility away from our passengers," explained Gregor Beiner on April 1, 2022, as a speaker at the Conference Days of taxi heute and HUSS-VERLAG. The managing director of MTZ Münchner Taxi Zentrums has been an electric pioneer for just over four years and has been a board member of BVTM for a little over a year.

“The contribution for our initially 15,000 euros and then decreasing to 5,000 euros degressive subsidy is manageable, the output gigantic,” Beiner stated. “Politics just needs to be willing to engage with it.” The BVTM had already “bombarded” the federal government with this issue, but unlike at the municipal level, there had been no proper responses at the federal level yet. Politics had other concerns right now.

As Beiner determined with a quick survey of the approximately 100 registered participants, the charging infrastructure was still a significant obstacle for them in making the switch. “We need to bring all the important players to the table,” advised Beiner. “We need quick access to the power grid at the places where we are frequently.” This approach had also proven to be correct in his own business.

Range: Never had to refuse a ride!

Regarding another obstacle, the range of today’s electric vehicles, the entrepreneur explained that with his ten electric taxis of the Jaguar i-PACE type, he achieved a reliable minimum range of 350 kilometers in real conditions. It had never occurred that a ride had to be refused. For trips over 200 kilometers, for example from Munich to Stuttgart, the drivers would charge unoccupied on the way back. However, such driving assignments were not the norm. On average, about 200 kilometers were covered per shift. “At MTZ, quick charging typically takes place during shift changes within 45 minutes or up to an hour and a half, depending on the remaining battery capacity,” reported Beiner. “When recharging on the go, you can also combine it with breaks,” he answered a taxi operator’s question regarding remuneration during charging.

As a multi-car operator from a big city, Beiner conceded to businesses in rural areas that range anxiety played a major role for them given the often longer trips. However, he said he knew some entrepreneurs who no longer worried because of the proximity of fast-charging hubs along highways. Beiner suggested setting up such hubs themselves and thus also serving colleagues as external users. This way, the quick charging of electric taxis and hire cars in conjunction with public charging stations could be well guaranteed.

Batteries hold up well

In response to another question about battery durability with continuous fast charging with a power of at least 50 kW DC, the electric pioneer replied that his electric taxis had now covered more than 1.8 million kilometers and their battery performance had fallen to 82 to 94 percent after around four years. In his opinion, this was within a good range, although it was already a significant reduction. He did not plan a battery replacement. He expected that the electric taxis would be sold to private individuals in about six months.

Of course, the resale value is now an important factor in calculating the total costs over the operating period. For this “Total Cost of Ownership,” one could definitely calculate with a price advantage of electricity over diesel fuel and gasoline and “fundamentally lower” wear costs compared to an internal combustion engine, said Beiner.

As he concluded, his company is also happy to advise entrepreneurs willing to switch. How to master the switch to electromobility depends on many individual factors. He encouraged them with the saying that it was not rocket science, one just had to clarify some things very precisely, such as the locally possible power connection.