06.07.10 - Birmingham Ready to go Electric
Tuesday 6th July, 2010– Today saw the first Birmingham consumers take delivery of their smart fortwo electric drives, as part of the UK’s biggest electric vehicle trials managed by the West Midlands CABLED consortium.
Tuesday 6th July, 2010– Today saw the first Birmingham consumers take delivery of their smart fortwo electric drives, as part of the UK’s biggest electric vehicle trials managed by the West Midlands CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium. Aston University Vice Chancellor, Professor Julia King; Graham Shemeld, Operations Manager, Cenex; and Rokneddin Shariat, Operations Manager, Economic Development & Partnerships, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, received the keys from Mike Whittington, Sales Director, for Mercedes-Benz Cars at Aston University.
Aston University Vice Chancellor, Professor Julia King, who also led the former Government’s ‘King Review’ to examine how alternative transport and fuels could reduce carbon emissions from road transport, said: “Aston is currently collecting and analysing data on real world usage of electric vehicles as part of the UK’s largest trial of low carbon cars and vans. This information is essential in assessing the actual demands and requirements of consumers, including the best places to locate charging points for vehicles. I believe electric vehicles offer a great opportunity to reduce congestion, noise and pollution from our streets, which in turn helps to reduce the UK’s greenhouse emissions. I shall look forward to using the next generation smart fortwo electric drive, which forms part of Aston’s Transport Action plan, to promote alternative and environmentally friendly travel.”
Mike Whittington, Sales Director for Mercedes-Benz Cars comments: “The start of the smart fortwo electric drive consumer trials in Birmingham is an important step towards the future of driving. The trials will enable us to start dispelling myths around electric vehicles and communicate the benefits, such as the zero emissions, excellent range of over 80 miles on a full charge, and the exceptional safety features.”
Funded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board, the nationwide trial is the first of its kind with over 340 vehicles being trialled on the UK roads and 110 as part of the CABLED project in the West Midlands, which also secured further funding from Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands. The programme sees 40 smart electric drives tested by West Midlands residents for 12 months and a further 60 trialled by residents in London and the South East.
David Bott, Director of Innovation Programmes at the Technology Strategy Board said: "It’s great to see the smart fortwo electric drive being handed over to drivers for trials in Birmingham today. This Midlands programme is part of a much larger UK–wide trial funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport, with over 340 low carbon vehicles in eight different projects around the country being tried out by drivers in real life conditions. Data on the vehicles’ performance and user behaviour will be tracked, collated and published, creating a valuable bank of information to inform the future rollout of this technology.”
As part of the activity, smart commissioned the Plugged-In report by The Future Foundation to better understand the UK perceptions around electric vehicles. The report reveals that Birmingham consumers are ready to embrace the electric revolution with about two-thirds of consumers stating that they would be willing to consider an electric vehicle if the charging infrastructure were improved. Other key report findings reveal:
- 83% of residents in Birmingham think it is their community’s responsibility to make sure residents living there can live ‘greener’ lives with easier local recycling facilities, electric vehicle charging points and cycle lanes.
- 66% of residents in Birmingham think the area where they live would be less polluted if there were more electric cars
- 70% of residents in Birmingham admitted they make a conscious effort to drive less in order to save money (asked of drivers)
- Residents in Birmingham are vocal to their council about how they can improve the area where they live. 84% of residents in Birmingham claim to have made improvement suggestions to their council (compared with a UK average of 87%)
Neil Butcher of Arup, project leader of the CABLED consortium, said: “The handover of the 40 smart electric drives marks the third major milestone in the West Midlands trial of ultra low carbon vehicles following the release of the first 25 cars in December and the recent installation of electric charging points in the city centres of Birmingham and Coventry. A further 45 vehicles will be allocated for trial later this year as part of our project to indentify exactly what infrastructure the UK requires to be best equipped for a low carbon transport future.”
Adrian Parker, Innovation Manager for E.ON, the energy partner to the CABLED project, said: “We’re proud to be the energy behind electric cars in the West Midlands and delighted that CABLED was the first of eight national projects to install public charging points. These points, complemented by home and workplace charging, will encourage people to consider electric cars so we could well be on the road to changing the way we drive.”
Robert Evans, CEO, Cenex said: "The Cenex team are very excited by the arrival of these new smart electric drive vehicles. We supported the original 100 vehicle smart electric drive trial from 2008 to 2010 and the team are keen to put the new cars through their paces to measure their performance in real world and laboratory testing conditions and to assess consumer acceptance."
Shariat Rokneddin, Operations Manager, Economic Development & Partnerships, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce said: “This eco friendly form of transport will play a major role in West Midland’s future transport strategy and the economic prosperity of West Midlands businesses. Birmingham Chamber Group looks forward to piloting the smart electric drive for business use.”
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