At the forefront of electric motoring in Cornwall and using eight Peugeot iOn’s, Hawkins Motor Group reports that it saved £20k last year on petrol alone.
Having sold over 130 since the iOn’s launch nearly two years ago, Hawkins director, Johnny Hawkins, said: “We are proud of the role we played so far in helping make Cornwall a greener county and the iOn has been a big part of that.”
We contacted some of Hawkins customers who have ‘gone electric’ to see how, nearly two years on, they are getting on.
“First class” was the description given by John Collins after purchasing his 100% electric car, having taken part in the Hawkins Electric Car Rally in March 2013.
Impressed by the power and acceleration of the iOn, Mr Collins and his wife installed a fast charger at their home. Courtesy of funding by the Government, it was arranged free of charge by Bradley Harris, one of Hawkins’ very own electric car specialists.
Over a year on and Mr Collins is still delighted, stating “I thoroughly enjoy driving the iOn, it’s a nippy little car and I definitely would recommend it: I often stop to tell others just how good it is.”
Regional director of Energy My Way, Steve Young, described how charging the iOn is “no different to plugging in your phone at night”.
“Charging my iOn is completely free when I do it through my solar panels,” said Mr Young, who now uses an electric van for his business, too.
“It’s great for family day trips, my wife and I and our two children all fit in easily. The wife uses it for shopping and we have clocked up 15,000 miles in 18 months.”
With the imminent installation of more than 50 electric car charging points throughout Cornwall, greener motoring is getting easier. The new Rapid chargers are expected to be capable of charging a Peugeot iOn or Citroen C-Zero 0-80% in just 30 minutes.
Anticipating issues with the length of mileage between charges, Brian Piper and his wife were reassured after they test drove their iOn for a weekend saying ‘it passed with flying colours’. Having now had their iOn for 18 months, Mr Piper stated: “I live in Stithians and find that we can cover most journeys in west Cornwall on a single charge. What really surprised me was the cars acceleration from standing.”
To test drive the Peugeot iOn, call St Stephen 01726 828100, Hayle 01736 751010 or Penryn 01326 377206, or visit www.hawkins.co.uk.
