City Sends Dozens Of EVs Straight To The Crusher CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home News City Sends Dozens Of EVs Straight To The Crusher

City Sends Dozens Of EVs Straight To The Crusher

Jun. 03, 2020 11:31 AM ET by Jay Traugott Video / 35 Comments An electric car-sharing program has failed miserably. Back in 2015, the city of Indianapolis, Indiana initiated an electric vehicle sharing program called BlueIndy, but now the entire operation has been shut down because of slow business. About 3,000 people signed up for the program over the past five years but with a city population of over 875,000, it's understandable why it's coming to an end. The IndyStar claims the project cost a grand total of $50 million. The city forked over $6 million while the Indianapolis Power & Light Company contributed $3.7 million with the installation of the underground wiring for the charging stations. A total of 280 cars were part of the fleet and over 90 charging stations were set up. It was an ambitious program no doubt, but it simply failed to live up to expectations. So, what's to be done with the electric cars and the chargers? According to local news affiliate WTHR, the answer is towing the cars to the scrapyard. BlueIndy/Facebook BlueIndy/Facebook BlueIndy/Facebook The video shows the current junkyard status of the now stripped-down EVs, which look like a cross between a first-generation Nissan Leaf and a Mitsubishi i-MiEV. "Some of the cars with body damage are indeed being scrapped after the LMP batteries and key components/parts have been removed and stored," said James Delgado, vice president of Blue Systems. Non-damaged vehicles have been placed in storage before being shipped to Los Angeles for that city's own EV car-sharing program. The cars' LMP batteries are being repurposed for other energy storage projects the company has in other locations. But the cars' shells remain and have since been stacked on top of each other. No decision has been made about what to do with the charging stations. WTHR/YouTube WTHR/YouTube WTHR/YouTube City councilor member Zach Adamson admitted to having "mixed emotions" about the program's end. Although he supports, in principle, green programs like car sharing, he "had major concerns and questions over [BlueIndy's] viability as a company as well as the investment the city had put into it." Others, however, are glad to see the EVs gone for good. Several small business owners never liked them because they took up the few parking spots available downtown. Sometimes riding a bicycle or using a parking garage and walking the rest of the way remains the most convenient solution. BlueIndy/Facebook BlueIndy/Facebook BlueIndy/Facebook

Join The Discussion

Show Comments (35)

Gallery

9 Photos Tags: #Nissan News #Electric Vehicles #Industry News #Video

Related Cars

Nissan Leaf LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top