While there are those with their doubts about electric cars today (see story), the first results from the CABLED trial coming in today seem to be very positive.
Feedback from drivers of Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV models taking part in the West-Midlands based CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators) trial highlights that the electric cars were ideally suited for their needs.
The results from the first quarter of the trail which started back in December 2009, show that 22 cars were used in much the same way as ordinary cars, with the drivers typically using them for journeys under five miles. With such short journeys proving typical of all drivers (whether fossil fuelled or not), its worth bearing in mind that such distances, when warming up, conventional car engines are at their most polluting, and catalytic converters are at their least effective. One nil to the electric car.
Secondly, the average of drivers taking part was just 23 miles, well within the i-MiEVs 80 mile range.
Drivers on the trail used the entire speed range of the cars too, showing that were comfortable in driving the electric models on the motorway.
Thanks to the harsh winter just passed, the vehicles tested in all temperatures, even as low as -10 degrees Celsius. Admittedly there was a drop-off in usage at very low temperatures, but this is likely to be the result of reduced car usage during extremely cold weather, when hazardous road conditions meant that only essential journeys were made.
As vehicles were parked for 97 per cent of the time, typically overnight and during school hours, there was plenty of time to allow for lengthy battery charging periods at home and work.
Led by global engineering consultancy Arup, CABLED is the largest of eight consortia from across the UK to participate in the £25 million Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator competition as well as being the first to begin vehicle trials. Data is being collected and analysed by Aston University.
Brian Price, Aston University comments: “Collecting real-world usage of electric vehicles (EV) through our satellite mapping and analysis has been essential in understanding actual demands and requirements of EV vehicles for consumers. The journey data gathered is already showing that the current generation of ultra low carbon vehicles are cheap to run as well as being comparable to petrol & diesel vehicles for speed, ease of use and daily journey distance; using less than 30 per cent of total charge in typical daily use. The next phase of the study will allow us to map out an optimal charging point network to further extend range and improve the convenience of electric cars.”
