Greener Glasgow's Electric Vehicle Project

16/07/2010

Glasgow City Council is taking a step forward in its quest for a cleaner, greener city with the addition of 10 electric, zero emission vehicles to its fleet, from Allied Electric. 

The vehicles that were handed over today (16 July 2010) by Allied Electric’s Managing Director, Paul Nelson, are the first of 40 trial vehicles built by Allied Electric for the local authority.  The cars will be tested throughout the city as part of a £3.8million project led by Allied Electric.

The initial 10 Peugeot eExpert electric people carriers will be followed by a further 30 Peugeot ePartners electric cars, scheduled for delivery in September 2010.

The trial is part of the Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator initiative, a £25m project funded by the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport to create test beds around the UK for more than 340 low carbon vehicles.

The Glasgow consortium is one of eight national ultra low carbon vehicle demonstration projects in the programme.

Alongside Allied Electric and Glasgow City Council, partners in the Glasgow project include Dundee battery manufacturer Axeon, Scottish Power, Strathclyde University and Scottish Enterprise.

The trial vehicles, that have a battery range of between 80 and 100 miles, will be integrated into the council’s existing fleet and that of other partner organisations to gather reliable information and feedback on the viability of including these vehicles in fleets, long-term. 

The vehicles will be used for a variety of purposes within Glasgow City Council including site visits for planning officers, social workers making home visits and staff that visit various schools in the city.   Plans are also in place for electric vehicles to be trialled through partner organisations such as the fire service and the Scottish Government, with use also scheduled for other consortium members.

Allied Electric’s Managing Director, Paul Nelson, commented: “The delivery of these first ten vehicles is the culmination of a strong forward-thinking partnership between ourselves and Glasgow City Council, Axeon, Scottish Power, Strathclyde University and Scottish Enterprise.  This first batch of vehicles for the Glasgow Technology Strategy Board project hopefully signals the beginning of widespread usage of zero emission vehicles throughout the city.”

Councillor Ruth Simpson, executive member for sustainability and the environment, said: “Taking delivery of these vehicles today brings us another step closer in our quest to lower the city’s carbon emissions.

“The Council is keen to lead by example to drive environmental change in the city and we hope if the trial proves successful, to include electric vehicles permanently within the council’s fleet.”

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “Through investing in trials such as this one, we are paving the road to electrification. The Technology Strategy Board's investment is enabling vital trials with prototype vehicles to fully understand user driving habits, charging patterns, and any vehicle improvements that can be made. As we creep closer to our deadline of 80 per cent carbon emission reductions by 2050, it’s crucial that, now, more than ever, we have initiatives in place to help us go some way to reach these targets.”