LONDON, June 30 (UPI) — “Sustainable mobility” is the catchphrase of the moment in Europe.
Test trials involving electric cars are mushrooming all over the continent, with the grandest plans tabled in Britain, Germany and Denmark. In times of climate change and quickly depleting fossil fuels, the electric cars are intended to reduce Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions and its dependence on foreign oil.
London last week unveiled the world’s largest trial of green cars, a $40 million scheme aimed at boosting sustainable mobility in Britain. Around 340 cars — from electric Mini Cooper vehicles to sports cars and vans — will be test-driven by a selected audience all over the country starting in October. The trial will also involve energy utilities, universities and regional authorities providing the charging infrastructure and evaluating the driving experiences
. Car companies providing vehicles include BWM, Daimler and Peugeot.
“Here’s an opportunity to position the U.K. as a world leader in the adoption of this technology by supporting the largest ever trial of such vehicles,” The Guardian newspaper quoted British Science Minister Paul Drayson as saying. “That encourages companies working in this field to do their research and development here. That knowledge generated by the trial then gets fed back to the follow-on systems that come through.”
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