Arval To Participate In Electric Car Trial
Arval, the leading European fleet and fuel management company, has a member of their midland’s Sales Support team, Dave Pearson, taking part in a Government-supported UK-wide project of electric and ultra low emission vehicles by using a brand new Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) for the next year, working with Arval’s Consultancy team to build a picture of the strengths, weaknesses and practicalities of using the fully electric vehicle.
Dave, a Sales Support Executive at Arval’s Birmingham office, collected the car from the CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) consortium in Centenary Square, Birmingham alongside automotive expert Quentin Willson on Saturday. The trial is led by global engineering consultancy Arup, with CABLED representing the largest of eight regional teams to participate in the £25 million Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition.
In order to support Dave’s trial energy provider E.ON has fitted a charging point at his home while Arval has installed a designated charging point at their offices.
Dave comments: “When Arval announced that an employee would get the opportunity to be involved in the trial I jumped at the chance. As well as reducing my environmental impact, it is a great opportunity to be an early adopter of this new technology and reduce my travel costs in the process.”
Danny Clenaghan, Director at Arval and head of the company’s Environmental Impact Group adds: “We have been using electric vehicles for nearly two years and it’s crucial that we continue to be receptive to new technologies and new modes of travel. This is a zero tailpipe emissions vehicle which will save money and the environment so we are delighted to be involved in the trial. When we started speaking about the trial we received a great response from employees and having spoken to Dave, he is really looking forward to using the vehicle.”
Neil Butcher, Arup’s project leader of the CABLED consortium said: “Today’s launch is a landmark occasion for the UK automotive industry, and this project will begin to examine the points where the vehicles meet the built environment – energy generation, battery charging and driver behaviour. This is an important first step on our roads to a low-carbon future.”
The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a fully electric city car with zero tailpipe emissions. It can be trickle charged from flat to full in seven hours at any UK three-pin socket, costing under £1 for a full charge. In addition the i-MiEV can be fast-charged from flat to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.
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