Electric car promotion is back to front

The government’s preoccupation with electric vehicles (EVs) not yet on the market is at the expense of the environment according to Britain’s leading supplier of battery-powered cars and vans.

Aixam Mega says that government electric vehicle programmes and incentives focus exclusively on technology that is still a long way from being commercially viable, while its own products are being deliberately excluded, even though they are already on the market.

Aixam Mega general manager Lawrence Holland says that the company has been willing to take part in the scrappage scheme and recently-announced electric vehicle trials, but has been refused each time: “We have been told that this is because our vehicles are legally described as quadricycles, rather than as cars, owing to their lighter weight, and lower power output.

“In terms of the environmental agenda, this is a nonsensical distinction to be making.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) a breakdown service provider that also specialises in electric vehicles, said: “Government policy on electric cars is back to front – there should be more emphasis on technology that is available today.”

“We believe that quadricycles may have been excluded from the national electric vehicle trials because the announcement was made by politicians before civil servants had a chance to finalise the details.”

Meanwhile, a report published this week by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) comes to the conclusion that the government’s policy to replace its own vehicles with electric models is welcome but should be more ambitious.

What is a quadricycle?

Sometimes referred to as a micro car, a “quadricycle” is a four-wheeled vehicle with an unladen mass not more than 400kg (excluding batteries if it is an electric vehicle) and whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 15 kW. The best known quadricycle is the G-Wiz.

What is a safe car?

There appears to be reluctance by government to promote this type of vehicle because of concerns over safety. The G-Wiz has completed over 20million miles without serious incident, but more importantly, it existence raises the question of what constitutes a ‘safe’ car.

There is a perception that large, heavy cars such as 4X4s are safe, but they pose an increased risk to pedestrian in the event of a collision. Quadricycles on the other hand are designed to operate in urban areas at low speeds. According to Government figures published this week Greater Manchester has an average traffic speed of 12.1mph, Leicester 13.6mph, London 14.6mph, West Yorkshire 14.6mph, Merseyside 14.9mph, South Yorkshire 15mph and the West Midlands 15.5mph (Road Statistics 2008: Traffic, Speeds and Congestion).

The fact that quadricycles are lighter than conventional cars makes them less of a risk to pedestrians and less damaging to the road surface. Furthermore, they are economical and almost entirely 100 per cent recyclable

What is the ETA?

The ETA is an ethical organisation providing motorists and cyclists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products – including a specialised service for electric vehicles.