Funding from the Scottish government is supporting the addition of twenty electric vehicles to City Car Club branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with smaller car club companies across Scotland offering another 30 electric cars.
City Car Club added its first electric vehicle, a Nissan LEAF, to the Edinburgh branch six months ago using government funding and added another two EVs to its fleet recently.
So far the Nissan LEAF has made almost 200 trips, totalling more than 4,000 zero-carbon miles.
The additional 20 vehicles will be positioned at locations suggested by the public, available to reserve from £6.20 per hour with a five pence per mile charge for users.
Club member Des Reid recently set out to challenge misconceptions surrounding the practicality of electric vehicles with a trip in the Nissan LEAF covering 275 miles.
He said: “We instantly noticed that the car is quite amazing to drive. It’s so quiet that you can talk in a whisper at motorway speeds.
“In terms of charging and performance, if you stick to main motorway networks you’ll have no trouble, although rural Scotland caused a little difficultly.”
Charging infrastructure in Scotland is quickly expanding with help from the Scottish government, the Shetland Islands being the most recent area to benefit from grants for charging points. You can see all the available infrastructure in Scotland and the UK on Zap-Map Live.
Transport Scotland has dedicated £1 million to the development and use of electric vehicles across the car club sector as part of efforts to meet a target for “total decarbonisation” of road transport by 2050.
Scotland’s Transport Minister, Keith Brown said: ‘We are always looking for ways to allow more drivers to experience what it is like to drive these vehicles and car clubs provide an excellent way to achieve this.
“The £1 million funding I announced in June will enable around 50 electric cars to be introduced into car clubs across Scotland, allowing even more people to see what it is like to switch to electric.”
EV Fleet world, Herald scotland
