Dozens of Tayside businesses will be urged to kick start an electric car revolution in the City of Discovery at an event 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” surrounding it.
Industry experts will give presentations on the day, with business people offered the chance to get behind the wheel of electric cars for 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 Transport Scotland, 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. We have been running GreenFleet events for three years. We focus around particular communities in the UK.
“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 educated right. The idea of this whole event is to do that.
“One of the presentations we have got is from a company called Shepherd Chartered Surveyors. They have already included EVs in their car fleet. It just shows other private sector companies it is doable. It says ‘don’t be scared’.
“It is the first sort of focus on EVs in Dundee. Each city is different, has different terrain and some have got more charging infrastructure as well and whatever else. A different city has different elements they need to overcome.
“There is an old saying: ‘you don’t buy a pair of shoes without trying them on’. They need to be sure EVs are going to fulfil what they need to do. At the end of the day EVs are not right for everybody. But there is usually a place for them in most transport operations.”
He added the average weekly running cost for an EV is about £3, compared to just shy of £20 for regular cars.
Last week the UK Government 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.
He said: “It is a serious issue in this country. We do welcome this announcement; something needs to be done.”
