A trial offering local businesses in Nottingham and Derby the chance to try electric vehicles (EVs) before they buy has ended with 79 organisations reportedly planning to take on 158 electric or hybrid vehicles.
The aim of the two-year Electric Van Experience (EVE) trial – which saw more £2.6m of funding from National Highways and £1m from Nottingham City Council – was to speed adoption of EVs ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, as well as contribute to Nottingham’s carbon-neutral ambitions and help clean up the city’s air.
According to the council, local businesses including funeral directors AW Lymm and Parcelhub, which took part in the trial, have now made the switch and invested in their own EVs.
Specifically, ParcelHub, which last year announced a commitment to invest £450,000 in the rollout of EVs within its regional depot network, purchased nine Maxus eDeliver 9s.
The Electric Van Experience trial in numbers:
- 55 electric vans purchased by Nottingham City Council
- 122 loans of vans – the council lent the vans for up to a month
- 61 free workplace charging points installed
- 73% of businesses and organisations involved in EVE plan to make the switch and buy or lease battery-electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids
The 55 electric vans used in the EVE trial will now join Nottingham City Council’s vehicle fleet, replacing older petrol and diesel vans, for deliveries, rubbish removal and more – taking the local authority’s overall fleet to 42% electric.
Councillor Angela Kandola, portfolio holder for highways, transport and planning at Nottingham City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to hear businesses and organisations in Nottingham and Derby have had a great experience with their loan of an electric van and that this trial has provided confidence in making the switch in the future.
“We’ll look forward to seeing the final report and hearing the learnings from other councils who have taken part, so that as a country we can remove some of the barriers to electric vehicle adoption and help us on our way to limiting harmful emissions and air pollution.”
Nottingham City Council’s workplace travel service aims to support local businesses and organisations by offering grants of up to £25,000 to install sustainable transport infrastructure in the workplace such as EV charging points, cycle shelters and pool e-bikes.
Innovations and achievements such as this will highlighted and celebrated at the second annual CiTTi Awards, which takes place at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 21 November 2023. Entries are now open and close on July 28. For more information, please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk
