Half of all taxis working on Denmark's Dantaxi platform now run on electricity
Updated: May 15, 2023
Half of the taxis of Denmark's largest taxi company, Dantaxi, now run on electricity.
Dantaxi's CEO Carsten Aastrup, expects the company to have a zero-emission fleet of taxis by 2025.
The green transition from diesel taxis to electric taxis is happening at a pace that few other industries can match. At Dantaxi, the number of electric taxis nationwide has gone from 290 to over 500 in just one year, an increase of 75%.
Aastrup said: "The charging infrastructure has improved significantly and there is a wider range of suitable car models available for taxi use. We also notice an increasing demand for electric taxis among business customers. In addition, the taxi industry is subject to political regulations that set environmental requirements for the types of vehicles that can be used as taxis, which also plays a role."
Although development is moving fast, there is still some way to go before all of the company's 1,900 taxis are electrified. This week, Dantaxi is marking the 10th anniversary of electric taxis with an event for taxi drivers.
Aastrup said: "Through a special event for our taxi drivers, we want to inspire those who still drive on diesel. We are striving to achieve our ambition of a zero-emission fleet of taxis by 2025, which requires efforts in several areas. For example, in 2021, in collaboration with E.ON, we decided to establish the largest charging hub for electric taxis in the Nordics. This has been our most significant initiative for the green transition, and has meant that a large proportion of our vehicles have been able to sound charge without using public charging points.”
The first electric taxi in Dantaxi started operating in 2013. In 2015, Dantaxi-drivers in the city Nykøbing Mors acquired three electric cars. One of them managed to drive almost one million kilometers before it was replaced in 2023. In 2021, Dantaxi, in collaboration with E.ON, opened the Nordic region's largest charging hub for electric taxis, called Danhub. The capacity of the Danhub is to charge 400 taxis per day.
By May 2023, Dantaxi will have more than 500 electric taxis out of a total fleet of 1900 taxis. The three most popular electric car brands among the company's taxi drivers are Mercedes, VW and Tesla.
