The NICE Car Company has won the Electric Vehicle of the Year at the 2008 GreenFleet Awards.

The company picked up the accolade for the new MyCar, an Italian-designed two-seater electric vehicle, which was launched at the London Motor Show in July.

"We are obviously delighted to have won the award," said NICE (No Internal Combustion Engine) co-founder Julian Wilford. "Since launching NICE in 2006, our aim has been to bring clean, affordable and convenient transport to private and corporate customers alike.

"MyCar is the latest in a growing portfolio which already features the largest range of all-electric cars, vans and motorcycles on sale in the UK today."

The first MyCar will arrive in the UK next month with prices starting at £8,995. As with many electric vehicles MyCar offers very low motoring costs, estimated to be around 2p per mile, no road tax, no congestion charge in London, and, of course, zero tailpipe emissions.

In awarding MyCar its Electric Vehicle of the Year award, GreenFleet said the stylish and functional design, along with low running costs, would go a long way to increase the appeal of electric cars for city drivers.

The GreenFleet awards, which aim to recognise pioneers of environmental fleet management, were presented at a ceremony on Thursday 25th September in Twickenham.

Among other winners, London's Envy Motors, who specialise in low CO2 emitting and congestion charge exempt vehicles, took the `dealership of the year` award, and Ashwoods Hybrid Drive collected the `innovation` award for their hybrid van conversion technology.

GreenFleet, NICE

The head of Lloyds TSB, Sir Victor Blank, arrived at his company's recent take-over of HBOS in his bright red electric G-Wiz.

While Sir Victor himself is unlikely to be feeling the pinch, this was a bold statement from a man whose contemporaries are more accustomed to riding in the back of a chauffer driven Rolls Royce than `up-front` in a two-seater electric quadracycle.

Sir Victor's distinctive red G-Wiz is a regular fixture outside Lloyds TSB City headquarters, and is becoming synonymous with his reputation as a dynamic figure in the financial world. "He's quite a fan of the electric car," a Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said. "He likes cutting through the traffic when he's on the way to meetings."

Blank also owns a Toyota Prius hybrid-electric car, which he uses on occasions when space and comfort are paramount. Clearly genuine about his concern for both his personal and business impact on the environment, the Lloyds spokeswoman added: "Sir Victor was instrumental in establishing a target carbon footprint for the company."

Steve Hartridge, managing director of GoingGreen, the sole UK supplier of the G-Wiz, said: "I was chuffed to see GoinGreen customer, Sir Victor Blank, arrive for last week's important takeover meeting in his G-Wiz. As a shrewd financier, Sir Victor's long-standing endorsement of the G-Wiz concept is praise indeed.

"Besides being emissions-free the G-Wiz is also kind to the pocket, as many other Londoners have also discovered, with free parking, no congestion charge, no road tax and only about 1.5p per mile to run."

Other high profile G-Wiz fans include Hollywood actress Kristen Scott Thomas, BBC talk show host Jonathan Ross, and London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has branded the G-Wiz as ‘revolutionary’.

Johnson said: "In case you have yet to spot one of these mobile rabbit hutches, they are manufactured in India out of plastic and rubber bands, and since they are powered by a battery they emit no more CO2 than a small dandelion. They are at once as green, and as hopeful for the future of capitalism, as a dollar bill."

GoingGreen, Times

Toyota and EDF Energy have teamed up to road trial the first Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) introduced by a car manufacturer to the UK.

Trials started this week and will continue for more than one year. Toyota’s right-hand drive PHV will make its on-the-road debut as part of EDF Energy’s company fleet and will be tested by employees under every-day driving conditions.

Although Amberjac already offer a Plug-in Prius conversion, the factory-supplied Prius PHV would be the first plug-in hybrid offered by a mainstream manufacturer.

The London trials build on the first European PHV testing programme launched by Toyota and EDF on French roads in September 2007. The UK partnership is designed to evaluate vehicle performance within an urban environment, vehicle infrastructure requirements, and driver behaviours and expectations.

Toyota and EDF Energy are using an innovative charging system which is incorporated into the Prius PHV. This system is compatible with a new generation of public charging stations, which aim to make electric power more accessible on public roads and car parks, and will reduce the cost to the customer. EDF Energy has helped to install the first of 40 charging posts in the UK, with plans to help install more in the coming months.

The Prius PHV uses Toyota’s existing hybrid technology with the added benefit that the vehicle’s batteries can be fully recharged using a standard electrical plug or an electrical charging post to extend its driving range in electric mode. For short distances, the Prius PHV can be driven as an electric vehicle, resulting in a silent, zero emissions drive. For longer distances, the PHV works as a conventional hybrid vehicle.

Toyota's Prius PHV is "the best of both worlds": it enhances the benefits of hybrid technology, while avoiding the constraints traditionally linked with electric vehicles. Toyota expects the PHV to bring unsurpassed fuel efficiency and therefore record low emissions. Early test results indicate that fuel efficiency is significantly higher than current Prius. For example, for trips up to 15 miles, PHV consumes roughly 60% less fuel than Toyota's hybrid Prius. One of the research objectives of the UK tests is to confirm such PHV performance.

The tests also aim at understanding consumers' acceptance of the new technology, as a preparation to broader commercialisation in the future. Toyota has already confirmed that it will sell lithium-ion battery-equipped PHVs to fleet customers in Europe and other regions by the end of 2009.

Rt Hon John Hutton MP, UK Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, speaking at a Toyota/EDF Energy event in London to launch PHV in the UK, said: "I welcome the launch of this trial here in the UK. I am pleased to see industry pulling together to work on diversifying energy use and cutting global carbon emissions. We hope that this trial will provide an invaluable insight into the future development of UK electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. This, combined with the demonstration project announced by the prime minister, will lead us one step closer to making our ambition of becoming the number one location for low carbon vehicles a reality."

"We are very excited to expand our PHV road testing programme to the UK in collaboration with EDF Energy," said Koei Saga, Managing Officer in charge of hybrid system development at Toyota Motor Corporation. "Today’s announcement represents a step change towards acceptance of electricity in combination with hybrid technology as a viable and sustainable transport solution."

Car manufacturer, Lotus, has developed a new technology to boost the sound produced by a hybrid or electric vehicle.

The `safe and sound` project is a response to concerns about the safety of electrically powered cars, which produce little noise and as such can be harder for pedestrians and cyclists to detect.

Lotus' `safe and sound technology` works by playing an engine noise from under the bonnet which helps alert people to the approaching vehicle. A chief engineer for Lotus said: "What our system basically does is take a road speed signal from the vehicle and convert this in to a synthetic, but totally realistic engine sound. This sound is then amplified and played out through waterproof speakers at the front of the vehicle."

The development has been welcomed by groups representing blind or partially sited people, who claim that EVs provide a greater risk than traditional combustion engined cars. Clive Wood, transport policy officer at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said: "Blind and partially sighted people use the noise of oncoming traffic as a cue for when it is safe to cross a road – if a `quiet` hybrid electric vehicle is approaching then they will no longer have this cue and are immediately put at risk."

He added: "The charity recognises the environmental benefits of these vehicles however more consideration needs to be given to the safety implications to visually impaired pedestrians."

The concerns raised by Wood are backed up by research which shows that EVs provide a greater threat to safety. Researchers at the University of California found that while a standard petrol engine car was audible at an average of 36 ft away, a Toyota Prius could only be detected from 11ft, meaning pedestrians and cyclists would have less time to respond and ensure their own safety.

Mike Kimberley, chief executive officer of group Lotus, said that while hybrid and electric vehicles play an important role in improving fuel economy and reducing emissions, it is important to address the safety aspect through the introduction of new legislation.

"We hope that legislators introduce minimum noise requirements for vehicles to encourage the adoption of technologies, such as ours, which will ultimately increase pedestrian safety," he commented.

While the introduction of such technologies clearly has its benefits, it must not be forgotten that noise produced by vehicles is itself a burden to many. EVs and hybrids are environmentally clean alternatives in terms of the CO2 reductions they can provide, but they also help to decrease noise pollution on our roads.

The numbers of electric vehicles on UK roads might not currently be sufficient to make an audible difference, yet if coupled with improved accessibility for cyclists, pedestrians, and the visually impaired, they provide an opportunity to make our towns and cities altogether quieter and more liveable places.

BBC Report: Lotus test safe and sound technology