Birmingham charges ahead with electric vehicle network (Birmingham Liberal Democrats)

Birmingham Liberal Democrats <info@birminghamlibdems.org.uk>

Birmingham charges ahead with electric vehicle network

July 27, 2010 11:14 AM

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi i-Miev

Lib Dem Councillor Paul Tilsley has welcomed the installation of charging points for electric cars following last year's commitment in the Birmingham Declaration on Climate Change that Birmingham City Council will only buy electric or LPG vehicles by 2015.

Electric car drivers in Birmingham and Coventry can now use a new network of easy-access charge points in the latest stage of the UK's largest ultra low carbon vehicles trial. The network of charging points has been installed by E.ON on behalf of the CABLED project, a trial of 110 vehicles being tested by 'real world' users over the next 12 months.

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "As a city with a rich motoring heritage, our challenge for the future is to be at the forefront of low-carbon vehicle technology - and the development of a charging point network for the CABLED initiative is a vital step towards this goal."

"Last year we drew up the Birmingham Declaration on Climate Change in which we committed to only buy electric or LPG vehicles by 2015. That is why we are delighted to be working with partners to deliver the infrastructure that will underpin this."

CABLED - short for Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators - is made up of 13 organisations that will develop and demonstrate 110 road-worthy vehicles to be trialled in the two cities over 12 months. The 13 organisations are Arup, Aston University, Birmingham City Council, University of Birmingham, Coventry City Council, Coventry University, E.ON, Jaguar Landrover, LTI Vehicles, Micro Cab, Mitsubishi Motors, Smart, Tata.

CABLED is the largest of eight consortia from across the UK to participate in the £25 million Technology Strategy Board's Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition as well as being the first to begin vehicle trials. The aim of the project is to find out how the cars are used - and when they need charging - to get a better idea of the driver's experience of electrical cars. Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands has supported the CABLED consortium from the start and has invested £2.5million in the project, ensuring the Region's participation in the competition.

More information can be found at www.cabled.org.uk