Electric car trial announced in UK -
October 2009
A £25m project to trial low carbon and electric cars in the UK has been launched.
The trial, which will take place in eight cities and involve more than 340 cars, is part of a bid to meet the Government’s aim to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
The cars include Mitsubishi's electric MiEV and the Mini E, and while most of those being trialed are electric, a small number are plug-in petrol/electric hybrids. To be included, the car had to emit less than 50g CO2 per km.
The project has been organised by the Technology Strategy Board, and the technology being demonstrated is not so futuristic – it will be available in the next six to 18 months.
David Bott, the board's director of innovation programmes, said that electric cars had become credible and had a good range and speed, and that the project was aimed at seeing which cars and systems work best.
The trial will begin before the end of this year and run for two years, involving a wide spectrum of potential users to gauge their success and the public’s response to the vehicles.