Battery Life or Cycles on PHEV?

The taxi is my own and there's only me to drive. I could 'double man' the car but then there's twice the servicing cost and the car only has half the life with the money paid by the other guy hardly covering my costs.

There is no 'medallion' as such here for the usage I have but two Leafs would mean two cars, two insurances, two licences, two annual tests. In fact pretty much two lots of everything.

I have looked at the Renault Fluence EV which looks OK and is about the right size AND has the swappable HV battery and is probably worth a look when/if it's released. Trouble is, I'd rather trust a Toyota than a Renault and the Plug In Prius is still the best of both worlds.

@sub3marathonman - A Hymotion kit is never going to happen I'm afraid. The costs are too high, the import duties and shipping costs would kill off any benefit and I'd have a job convincing the taxi authority that a non standard modification with large high voltage batteries is safe for the carriage of paying passengers and then I'd have to convince the insurers. Due to the massive losses taxi insurers are having here, there are only about 5 insurers providing cover and they're very careful about who they take on. I think the official Prius plug in would be OK as its an officially recognised vehicle.

 

lol. Thank you, but I am already aware of Renaults terrible reputation. I previously owned a Peugeot and that was a nightmare but Renault is worse and their dealers have a certain reputation also.

In fact, I'm very wary of Nissan these days as their European line up is either rebadged Renaults or the Renault influence is quite evident.

The 'marriage' of Renault & Nissan could have been so good - Japanese reliability and French style but we got Japanese looks and French electrics!

 

My problem is that I have to purchase the car to use as a taxi. I can not get a lease due to the usage and the mileage. As such I'd be very wary of buying a Renault.

However, the swappable battery idea would be of interest so long as there is somewhere I can get 24/7 access. Perhaps if I was to work with Renault on this I could perhaps convince them to sort things out for me. It would be good PR for them and a niche selling point for me and my company. I have, however, already got a good working experience with Toyota so they'd be the better option for a future EV.

I do also hear what you're saying about EV's just not being cost effective as a working cab and you're right, and even with the higher cost of fuel over here they're still not viable. However, if I can even make it break even then I think it would be worth a try just for the PR and the extra custom from green focused customers.
As I've previously said, I live in an affluent area and people with money do have green leanings - perhaps because they can afford to or it appeases their conscience or whatever, but the Prius as a cab has proved very popular.