Comment: Region gets in gear to go electric

Jul 1 2009 By Stewart Watkins for The Journal

AN electric car revolution is on the way – and the North East is perfectly positioned to provide the world-class infrastructure and skills needed to support this exciting industry. Thanks to the support of companies such as Tesco, British Gas and the AA, there will now be a series of high-profile locations for people to charge their cars across the region, meaning they can take longer journeys knowing there's a charge point nearby.

One North East plans to install 750 of the charging points over the course of 2010 and 2011, with the first 40 installed in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Creating this vital infrastructure is a significant move towards helping the North East lead the world on electric vehicle development.

Add to this, the incentives announced by the Government in April, that from 2011 it will give £5,000 towards the cost of buying an electric car, and the market looks ready to take off.

It follows the government funding given to a North East consortium, including Nissan in Sunderland and Smith Electric Vehicles, part of the Washington-based Tanfield Group, to put a fleet of electric or low-carbon vehicles on the road in the next year.

Smith Electric Vehicles, which makes electric vans, and Nissan had signed an agreement with One North East, which is also part of the consortium, in March 2009 to co-operate on the development of electric vehicles.

The funding, from the Technology Strategy Board, will see at least 100 passenger vehicles produced by the end of this year or early next year.

There are also significant opportunities for the wider supply chain, with the region already demonstrating that it can supply leading motor manufacturers with high-quality components.

County Durham Development Company will be keeping a close eye on developments in this fast-moving field to highlight opportunities to businesses in our area.

Nick Brown, Minister for the North East, commented recently that he believed the region could become a world leader in the electric vehicle market.

Judging by the strides that have been made already, the North East has every opportunity to be the centre of the electric car revolution.

Stewart Watkins, managing director of the County Durham Development Company