Business being given chance to surge ahead

DOZENS of Tayside businesses will be urged to kickstart an electric car revolution in the City of Discovery this month.

The inaugural GreenFleet Dundee will take place on August 17 at the Caird Hall with the aim of educating local firms on the technology and alleviating “concerns” over it.

Industry experts will give presentations on the day, with business people offered the chance to get behind the wheel themselves.

GreenFleet Dundee organiser Colin Boyton said the city had been chosen for the event as it is “a trail blazer in Scotland” for embracing electric cars.

Among those attending will be representatives from Tr a n s p o r t S c o t l a n d , Dundee City Council and local companies which use electric vehicles (EVs).

Mr Boyton said: “Hopefully afterwards they (the attendees) can then make an educated decision on whether EVs are right for their businesses.

“Delegates will be broken into small groups. There will be 30-minute sessions driving BMWs. They will learn about the financing and leasing of EVs.

“There will be businesses in this city starting to look at this technology but they will have concerns.You can get over these concerns if you’re educated right. The idea of this whole event is to do that.”

He added the average weekly running cost for an EV is £3, compared to just shy of £20 for regular cars.

The UK Government has announced plans to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040 as part of an effort to tackle air pollution. It also said £255 million would be made available to councils to help deal with pollution from the dirtiest vehicles.

Mr Boyton said the news was welcomed “hugely” by GreenFleet.