UK Gov Promotes Electric Vehicles

The British Government announced a new campaign supposed to promote electric vehicles and hybrids among the local residents by allowing them to test such cars for several days. The trial will begin next year and will include approximately 100 vehicles, The Times reported today, offered in various cities across the country.

The programme is said to be created especially for families owning two cars, one for long journeys and one for short trips around the town with lower fuel consumption. That's why the government aims to replace the second vehicle with an electric or a hybrid model that would provide up to 40 miles with a single charge.

UK Government's campaign also includes a second stage costing about 20 million pounds supposed to encourage local companies to acquire electric vans. According to the aforementioned source, the vans will be gradually distributed to Liverpool, Newcastle, Coventry, Leeds and Glasgow.

"A lot of people have a car for long-distance travelling and a small runabout for taking the kids to school. We need to find out whether electric cars are practical. They are not going to be racing up and down the M1 but they are going to be used more around cities. We also need to consider how people in tower blocks can recharge their cars. It's not so easy when you don't have a driveway,” Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon was quoted as saying by The Times.

Electric cars and hybrids have grown in popularity over the last few months, especially after the beginning of the global economic crisis when most buyers started looking for fuel efficient cars, detrimental to high-performance models.