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Following a survey of electric car motorists around the London metropolitan area it was discovered the average distance travelled was less than 32kms per day. These SMART EV under test actually have a listed range of 110km, so if the results of the survey are to be taken in to account then a little improvement in the battery design could make each car last 4 days on a single charge!

Currently the SMART EV recharges to 80% within 4 hours and full capacity within 8 hours, and most of the drivers surveyed actually recharge at home rather than at the public charging stations (something else for the EV designers to consider when designing their charging station network).

Whilst the concept of EV is still not completely fool-proof (where does the electricity come from, coal-fired power stations), these are interesting developments in future urban planning. Altogether 1500 SMART EV´s are being tested around Europe, Canada and the US, and hopefully the results will help car and city design. Finally, not to put off the Top Gear fans these vehicles still manage a top speed of 120kmph.

Both the UK and Spain government’s are in a low-carbon emission race to see who can implement a stable and complete electric vehicle infrastructure in their major cities first. Whilst the British government have suggested a figure of US$150m to put London on the EV map, the Spanish government have recently announced a budget of €590m for the rollout of their Sustainable Economy Strategy “Action Plan”.

On the 6th April 2010 the Spanish government announced the extension to their current “Movele” plan that outlines the integration of 2000 electric vehicles and 500 charge points as a test bed by 2010. The new announcement outlines the government’s goal to reach 250,000 EVs by 2014 across all major Spanish cities. Not an easy task, to reach this goal will involve infrastructure, general public and private demand, R&D, marketing and legal strategy development. With the “Movele” test strategy having a budget of just €10m, the Government has outlined a total of €590m over the next 5 years to make this implementation successful. For further details visit www.economiasostenible.gob.es/.

Meanwhile in the UK the strategy is slightly different, focussing on delivering 1000 vehicles to Greater London by 2015. Two separate tenders have been proposed, firstly of US$100m for the EVs themselves, with current bidders Smith Vehicles and Nissan vying for the opportunity to start what could become the World’s first major EV network. A second tender of US$45m for the infrastructure, parking and recharging stations, has also been outlined. London is close behind the heels of Spain in their own attempt to slash carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. For further details visit Transport for London http://www.tfl.gov.uk/