Government announces start of £25m electric vehicle trials
Tue 23 June 2009
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The Government has announced that it is to support field trials of electric vehicles in eight different locations including Oxford, London, Glasgow, Birmingham and the north-east. Around 340 vehicles - mostly electric - will be involved in the trials including vehicles from Mini, Smart and Nissan. The Government says that this is the world’s largest coordinated trial of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Lord Drayson, the Science and Innovation Minister and Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary jointly announced the initiative in which power companies, regional development agencies and universities will also be involved, coordinating the experiments, building infrastructure such as charging points and analysing the way the cars are used.
The Government’s £25m contribution to the trials will be matched by participating companies in the eight selected consortia. The level and quality of interest led the Technology Strategy Board, the Government-backed agency coordinating the project, to increase the number of test vehicles from 100 to 340, including cars, taxis, people carriers, and a minibus.
Lord Drayson, Science Minister in the newly formed Department for Business Innovation & Skills, said: "Low Carbon doesn't mean low performance. Modern electric cars offer power and bucket loads of torque".
"Today's announcement signals our intent to reduce our dependence on petrol- and diesel-based engines, and determine the best practical alternatives."
The announcement received support from the SMMT, the AA, WWF and the Environmental Transport Association.
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