A drive for change

GREEN ISSUE MOTORING:Electric cars are a no-brainer given transport and environmental concerns Two marketing students with a love of sustainable commerce found an environmentally-friendly business idea on a trip to India

GREEN ENTREPRENEURS Lisa Redden (28) and Olivier Vander Elst (26) met while studying for a Master's in marketing practice at UCD's Smurfit Business School. They discovered a common interest in sustainable commerce and shared a lack of enthusiasm for working in conventional marketing roles. In 2005, they took a six-month backpacking trip to India with a purpose - to find a sustainable, environmentally-friendly business idea to bring back home.

A chance meeting with a Swiss environmental engineer put the pair in touch with the makers of the Reva electric car in Bangalore. The cars are made at an eco-assembly plant and are currently sold in 26 countries worldwide. Redden and Vander Elst were impressed with the Reva but asked Redden's brother, Simon, who is an engineer, to visit the plant to check out the vehicles. He gave the car the thumbs up and negotiations for the distribution rights for Ireland (26 counties) began.

"Yes, it was a bold move to approach them given our age and experience, but sometimes you have to sell yourself as being a bigger fish than you really are," says Belgian-born Vander Elst. "We had already secured financial backing for the venture from private investors in Ireland and our presentation to the company included a launch plan and marketing campaign, so we were well prepared."

Redden says the investment in setting up Green Aer will be around €300,000 over three years and that the operation is well within budget. The company now employs three full- and three part-time employees. Green Aer took delivery of its first car in October 2007 and to date has sold 14 units. The company sells direct and is hoping to sell 120 in 2009.

"The Reva is not a Noddy car," says Vander Elst. "It is viable city transport that makes absolute sense, given the depletion of oil reserves and concerns about carbon emissions. Many households have two cars now. Do they really need two big cars? One could be replaced with a Reva for short hops while the bigger car is used for longer distances."

Chairman of Sustainable Energy Ireland, economist and Labour party politician Brendan Halligan recently bought a Reva.

"I use it for making journeys to meetings within the city," he says. "It is fairly basic - more Ryanair than first class - but it's automatic, very easy to drive and you can park it very easily, which saves a lot of time. Mine is Bluetooth-friendly, has a perfectly good radio and costs very little to run. I'm a big enthusiast of electric cars. They are a no-brainer given transport and environmental concerns and we should just get on and accept them."

The problem that dogs electric cars is short battery life. The current Reva will do 80km before it needs a charge, but versions with a longer range are on the way. Currently there is no public point where drivers of electric cars can charge their vehicles while away from home. However, Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown is planning to pioneer public charging points. Green Aer hopes other local authorities will follow suit, in line with the Government's stated commitment to having 10 per cent of the national road transport fleet electrically powered by 2020. Around 200,000 charging points will be required nationwide to serve that number of vehicles.

While the Reva is Green Aer's main product, it is also looking at complementary add-ons such as the French-made electric Easy Bike. The "mini" version collapses and fits into the Reva's boot, making it ideal to "bundle" with a purchase of the car, says Vander Elst.

"The Reva is Marmite in car terms - you either love it or hate it," he adds. "Those that have them are not eccentric but they are strongly opinionated and prepared to back their opinions with action."