What Nottingham has learnt from the Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) Experience

ULEV Experience brochure

The Workplace Travel Service: ULEV Experience was launched in 2018 with the aim to increase the uptake of electric vehicles, as well as improving air quality in the city by supporting businesses to understand, trial and implement low emission vehicle technology.

£600,000 of Workplace Travel Service grants were delivered, supporting 60 businesses with installation of both electric vehicle charging points and active travel infrastructure.

The ULEV Experience programme also included Fleet Reviews, ULEV loans, events, and engagement.

Fleet reviews

Fleet reviews were used to inform businesses which low emission vehicle technologies would work for them by giving the businesses an overview of the cost savings and emission impacts of integrating electric vehicles into their fleet.

Delivered by Cenex and the Energy Saving Trust, a total of 34 fleet reviews were delivered, reviewing 4,385 vehicles finding that 673 could be replaced with ULEVs. Together these replacements could save an annual 1,008 tonnes of carbon emissions and a financial saving of £269,492 for the businesses.

ULEV experience fleet reviews Nottingham

ULEV loans

Delivered by DriveElectric, a range of different vehicles, from cars to vans, were offered to businesses to trial for up to a month for them to experience electric vehicles with their fleet and schedules before committing to a purchase. Nine different vehicles were available to try out, including popular makes and models such as the Hyundai Kona and Nissan e-NV200 van.

75 loans across 41 organisations were delivered, resulting in 29 new ULEV purchases, with a large number of organisations saying that they will be looking to order electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles when they next need to replace their vehicles.

Events

Events were delivered by CleanTech Business and RideWise to inform and educate local businesses on the environmental and economic benefits of ULEVs.

23 events were held including Clinics, Ride and Drives, EV Roadshows, Business and Public Engagement events, and an Evening Business Networking Reception. These events were attended by 619 delegates.

What we’ve learnt

Different businesses can be at different stages of their ULEV journey. Some have no knowledge about EVs, some are already operating a low emission fleet. With this knowledge, we’ve learnt that events and business engagements need to be designed to offer something of interest to everyone, and fleet reviews need to be tailored depending on a business’s stage in their ULEV journey.

EV charging infrastructure is a genuine concern for some businesses, such as how charging infrastructure would work for them and the availability of grants to help support them install charging points.

Councillor Sally Longford, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council and Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Democratic Services says “Working in partnership, the ULEV Experience, which is funded by Nottingham City Council’s Workplace Travel Service, has been very successful in supporting businesses to understand, trial and implement Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs).

“By encouraging and supporting local businesses and organisations to make the switch to ULEVs and more sustainable transport, it is hoped that it will help reduce carbon and nitrogen dioxide impacts which transport can significantly contribute to. This can not only improve air quality but will also support Nottingham City Council’s ambition to become Carbon Neutral by 2028.”

To find out more about the lessons Nottingham experienced during the two-year programme, read the report here, compiled by Automotive Comms.

Read the report here