Study finds drivers give electric cars the thumbs up

May 19 2010 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

DRIVERS gave the thumbs up to electric cars during a North East trial, a study has found.

More than 260 people got to have a go in the green vehicles as part of the six-month trial which finished in March.

Four electric two-seater Smart cars were loaned to 10 different fleets, at councils, organisations and businesses across the North East.

Members of the public were also able to test drive one of the cars, which were fitted with data-capture technology by experts at Newcastle University, at a series of open days. In response to questionnaires given out after the trials, 72% of users said they would use an electric vehicle as their regular car, compared with 47% before the test drive.

But experts found drivers were overly cautious about how long the car’s battery would last and did not get anywhere close to using up all the power.

The maximum journey length made by any driver was 11 miles, just 25% of the average range of the vehicles.

The trial, organised by Cenex, the centre for low carbon and fuel cell technologies, with regional development agency One North East, was designed to figure out what the barriers were to members of the public accepting electric cars.

In February, an £8m funding package was unveiled to pay for the installation of 1,300 plug points for electric cars in the North East.

The idea is to create a network of chargers on streets, in car parks, at homes, businesses, shopping centres and tourist attractions, which will make using an electric vehicle a realistic option for families.

Robert Evans, CEO at Cenex, said: “The Smart Move trial has done a great deal to change perceptions of electric vehicles among the fleet managers and drivers who took part. There is clearly a need for better understanding of the advances that electric vehicle technologies have made in recent years, and we will be working with partners across the country to spread this message.”