The Mitsubishi i-MiEV – close to volume production – is being used in a new electric car trial in Britain’s West Midlands. The car is the first zero emissions, fully electric city car to be used on the government funded Technology Strategy Board user trials.
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It has a top speed of 81mph (130km/h), a range of 100 miles (160km) and can be trickle charged from flat to full in seven hours through a domestic outlet – costing under GBP1 for a full charge, according to Mitsubishi. The i-MiEV can also be fast-charged from flat to 80% in 30 minutes using a quick charger.
One trial driver, motoring journalist Quentin Willson, said: “These first EVs that go on the Technology Strategy Board’s trial mark the start of a seismic shift in the sort of cars we drive and how we power them.
“The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a forerunner of a transport revolution that eventually will change the world. At last here’s an electric car that doesn’t look like a church pew, seats four, does 80mph and costs less than a quid to charge. What is there not to love?”
This is the first stage of a government-supported UK-wide project to trial electric and ultra low emission vehicles – and began in the West Midlands at the weekend. ‘Independent’ drivers will run 25 i-MiEVs over the next 12 months for the CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium.
The consortium will manage the project after being confirmed in June as one of eight successful teams in the GBP25m Technology Strategy Board Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrator Competition. The consortium brings together the expertise of 13 local organisations within the engineering, automotive manufacturing, academic, public and infrastructure sectors, and is led by global engineering consultancy Arup.
The project is worth GBP15m and will trial 110 vehicles on the roads of Birmingham and Coventry. UK-wide, 340 vehicles are being tested using funding from the board. As well as being the largest, CABLED is the first consortium to begin vehicle trials and has recently gained further public backing thanks to GBP2.5m funding awarded by Advantage West Midlands (a regional development agency which has funded a number of auto-related projects in what has always been the heart of British vehicle design and manufacture).
Arup’s Neil Butcher said: “Less than 1% of the vehicles registered every year in the UK are electric and most of these are currently used in London. We think that by 2020, low carbon cars will be commercially viable, and it’s important that we start to understand the public’s reaction and provide the necessary infrastructure to prepare for this.
“Today’s launch is a landmark occasion for the UK automotive industry, and this project will begin to examine the points where the vehicles meet the built environment – energy generation, battery charging and driver behaviour. This is an important first step on our roads to a low-carbon future.”
Drivers selected for the trials of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and 85 other vehicles were chosen through an application process led by Coventry University. The other five manufacturers that will roll out vehicles in 2010, include:
•40 Smart ed
•25 Tata Indica x 25
•10 Microcab hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles
•5 Land Rover Range_e plug in hybrid vehicles
•5 LTI (London style) electric taxis
Martyn Mangan, automotive cluster manager for Advantage West Midlands, said: “The West Midlands is expertly positioned to co-ordinate these trials, as home to the UK’s largest regional automotive industry and around 60% of our annual industry research and development is commissioned here.
“CABLED is also a shining example of the West Midlands’ advanced capabilities in manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure. It will play a key role in the wider availability of low emission vehicles on the UK roads, and Advantage West Midlands is fully committed to its development.”
The consortium also benefits from a firm commitment to developing the necessary infrastructure to co-ordinate the trials from electrcity supplier E.ON, Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council, who will provide electrical charging points for vehicles across the two cities as well as access to the University of Birmingham’s hydrogen refuelling station. During the trials, Aston University will be analysing and reporting its conclusions from the data generated by the vehicles.
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said: “We created the Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition to act as a catalyst for industry, the public sector and academia to collaborate to provide low emission vehicles and solutions to powering them.
“The journey towards low carbon transport will not be easy, but the demonstrator programme is the biggest project of its kind to date and is a major step in the right direction.”
