A NISSAN dealer group has welcomed the government’s decision to award millions of pounds to promote electric vehicle ownership in its city.
Wessex Garages helped Bristol in its bid for funding from the Go Ultra Low City Scheme.
The city has now been given £7million to offer free residential parking for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), access to three carpool lanes in the city, as well as more than 80 rapid and fast chargers across the area.
The grant will also encourage people to lease a plug-in car for up to four weeks to help them better understand the range of benefits that electric vehicles, like the Nissan LEAF or e-NV200, bring.
Business West brought together a range of businesses and employers to help input into the bid, including seeking advice from Wessex Garages.
Keith Brock, Managing Director of Wessex Garages, which has three car dealerships in Bristol, said it was “a major game changer” for the City of Bristol.
He added: “With more rapid charging points being committed to the city…it really does start to change vehicle habits.”
As part of the £40m grant package, London was awarded £13million to create ‘Neighbourhoods of the future’ prioritising ULEVs in several boroughs across the capital.
Proposals include more than a dozen streets in Hackney going electric with charging infrastructure such as car-charging street lighting, while Harrow will develop a low emission zone offering parking and traffic priority to owners of plug-in vehicles.
Westminster Council already provides free parking for ULEVs and London’s proposal aims to deliver 70,000 ULEVs sold by 2020 and almost quarter of a million by 2025.
Milton Keynes will receive £9million to open a city centre Electric Vehicle Experience Centre — a ‘one stop shop’ providing consumer advice and short-term vehicles loans. The city also proposes to open up all 20,000 parking bays for free to EVs and co-brand bus lanes as low emission lanes giving plug-in vehicles the same priority at traffic lights as local buses.
Nottinghamshire and Derby will use £6million of funding to install 230 chargepoints and offer ULEV owners discount parking and access to over 13 miles of bus lanes along key routes across the city. The investment will also pay for a new business support programme letting local companies ‘try before they buy’.
The scheme is also providing £5million of development funding for specific initiatives in Dundee, Oxford, York and north east regions to help them play their part in kick-starting a country-wide clean motoring revolution.
New commuter charging hubs in Dundee will open up links across the region for plug-in vehicle owners, while solar-canopied park and ride hubs in York will help reduce air pollution in and around the city.
Poppy Welch, Head of Go Ultra Low, said: “With thousands more plug-in cars set to be sold, cutting running costs for motorists and helping the environment, this investment will help to put the UK at the forefront of the global ultra-low emissions race.
“Initiatives such as customer experience centres, free parking, permission to drive in bus lanes and hundreds of new, convenient public charging locations are sure to appeal to drivers and inspire other cities and local authorities to invest in the electric revolution.”