December 7, 2009

For British company, The Electric Car Corporation (ECC), the Climate Change Conference should prove to be wonderful Copenhagen.  The conference will showcase technologies such as electric cars that will help countries reduce their CO2 emissions and Danish company ChoosEV have purchased 60 electric cars from ECC for the two week event.

Unlike the heads of US carmakers, who travelled to the capital in private jets (yes one each!) to beg for state handouts, world leaders will be able to travel to and from the conference in the EEC’s C1 ev’ie.  An all electric miniature powerhouse, converted from the Citroen C1 in the UK.

ChoosEV, the Danish owners of SIXT rentacar, was set up by three of the major electric power companies to promote electric vehicles.  The chief executive of ChoosEV, Henrik Isaksen, commented ....“We are making the C1 ev’ie available through SIXT to a selection of delegates.  The ev’ie demonstrates the outstanding performance possible from top grade electric cars; it is a joy to drive and feels just like a ‘normal’ car.”  He continued... “We are delighted with our relationship with ECC, who are a leading market player in electric car technologies.”
 
The Citroen C1 ‘ev’ie’ is based on the popular Citroen C1.  It’s an all electric, 4 seater car, offering the purchaser comfort, performance and the full range of standard safety features expected from a conventional car.  Boasting a range of 60-70 miles on a full charge.  Performance boasts a top speed of around 60mph and offers a pleasant and completely normal driving experience, but at a fraction of the running costs.

Costing approximately 90 pence to fully charge and taking around 3 hours from the standard UK mains the ev’ie can be charged from any standard domestic socket. It has been very well received by the motoring press and has been viewed as an early leader of the alternative fuel revolution.
Gordon Brown will probably not be shouting too loudly about this  British success story as the UK lags way behind the hosts in terms of promoting electric cars.  Both Denmark and Norway currently provide significant incentives for consumer purchases of electric cars.   This is in contrast with the UK, where the government announced last April that there would be up to £5,000 subsidy for electric car purchasers.  However but this is to be deferred until April 2011 after the next election.  Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a collapse in demand for electric cars in the UK, as buyers hold on until 2011 to hold out for the possibility of some help form the government.

David Martell Chief executive of ECC explains: “It is very unfortunate that we cannot fully exploit the advanced technology that we have developed in the UK, especially as the government and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, have stated that they wish to fully support a renaissance of the British motor industry by promoting electric vehicles.  It is clear that other European Countries, that are providing incentives now, are leaving the UK behind in this area,”.... he adds ... “Our assembly plant in Bedfordshire has been fully occupied throughout the last few months and we would very much like to increase capacity and employment to meet the high demand.  I have written to Government to outline how ECC can help to put the UK firmly on the map, but unfortunately they have declined to offer any assistance to progress this opportunity.  Consequently, I believe we will fall even further behind the rest of Europe and this has therefore been a factor in our decision to commence assembly in Denmark.”

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