Government announces winning suppliers of low carbon vans under £20m procurement scheme
Wed 24 June 2009
View all news
The Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has announced the names of four companies who will supply electric and low carbon vans to twelve public sector organisations later this year. The companies are Ashwoods, Allied Vehicles, Smith Electric Vehicles and Modec. The £20m Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme, announced last year, aims to demonstrate the potential of new technologies for decarbonising road transport.
The Department for Transport says that the vehicles will be monitored closely to assess their carbon reduction potential in real world conditions. Successful initial trials may lead to financial support for further larger vehicle procurements in a second phase of the programme.
Lord Adonis said: “Electric and lower carbon vans have the potential to significantly reduce emissions so it is important that we test these new technologies in real world conditions. This new DfT programme enables the public sector to lead by example and I am delighted to see that a number of emerging UK companies have been successful in securing these contracts.”
The vans will be used by six local authority groups and six large public fleets including: Liverpool City Council, Leeds City Council , Glasgow City Council, Newcastle & Gateshead City Council, Coventry Low Carbon Fleet Partnership, Consortium of Central London councils, the Government Car & Despatch Agency , Environment Agency, HM Revenue & Customs, Royal Mail, Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police
The initial vehicle trials will last a minimum of three years. The programme as a whole is managed for DfT by Cenex, the UK Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon Vehicle & Fuel Cell Technologies.
The DfT says that together with the recent announcement of the winners of the Technology Strategy Board's ultra-low carbon vehicle demonstration competition (see associated link), close to 500 additional innovative low and ultra low carbon vehicles will be in operation across the UK within the next year.
Related Links
< Back to news list