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Electric cars are easy to use and deliver better performance than expected: these are a few of the outcomes of the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle demonstration (ULCV) trial, the UK’s biggest test of electric vehicles (EV). Britain is ready for a massive acceptance of electric cars. 

 

The UK wide trial involved 349 electric vehicles (EV), which covered an astonishing distance: 1.5 million miles. More impressing: more than 75 per cent of daily use consumed less than half of the battery capacity.

 

Promoting EVs is one thing, but to know how zero emission cars affect the daily life of consumers is far more interesting. That was exactly why the ULCV trial was conducted. Drivers completed questionnaires and interviews throughout the test. In the beginning, they expected that electric cars would require some kind of adjustment of their daily routines. However, this proved to be quite the opposite: driving an electric car did not require any compromise, and the performance of the new electric cars exceeded their expectations. Charging was easy and safe, said enthusiastic EV users. 

 

A majority of the Brits now has a positive opinion on electric cars. It is clear that the use of EVs in the UK will grow steadily. The country is only slightly behind on Europe when it comes to EV sales, but the ULCV trial results are very encouraging for the development towards a zero emission society.

 

The test was conducted by Cenex, the Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies and launched in 2008.The full report can be found here.