A UK trial involving 340 ultra-low carbon vehicles has improved fleet drivers’ opinions of the technology.
Fleet drivers who expected an electric vehicle to perform better than their normal car increased by 12 per cent after they had taken part in the trial.
The data also showed that 83 per cent of private drivers involved in the trail said the vehicles met their daily needs.
Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “The fact that users did not have to alter their daily routine to integrate the vehicles into their lives shows that, where appropriate, they are already a viable form of low carbon transport. As such we will continue to invest in and push forward the low carbon vehicle innovation landscape.”
The trial used a range of vehicles, including high performance cars and small city runabouts, which were driven by real users making everyday journeys over some 680,000 miles. Data was collected from on-board computers and face-to-face surveys, and data has been analysed by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board.
The ÂŁ25m Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles Demonstrator programme, launched in 2009 by the Technology Strategy Board, included 19 vehicle manufacturers, with 340 vehicles being trialled in seven different demonstrator hubs across the UK.