EVs already have numerous advantages in the city, but fresh parking and charging options are making them irresistible

Clean, quiet, powerful electric cars make perfect sense everywhere; in the countryside, for family trips and for commuting. But it is in towns and cities with their zero emission credentials that electric cars really triumph.

Nowhere is this more evident than in London. In January it officially became a ‘Go Ultra Low City’ after winning a government competition and £13m to prioritise electric vehicles (EV) across the capital.

The aim of the scheme – also spearheaded by Bristol, Nottingham and Milton Keynes – is to boost the take-up of plug-in electric cars both in the capital and across the country.

London is already favourable to electric cars, which are exempt from the £11.50-a-day congestion charge and can park for free in many boroughs. The new Go Ultra Low City work will deliver a range of measures to encourage take up of EVs, including:

• a single residential chargepoint offer to London EV owners that don’t have off-street parking

• new commercial rapid chargepoint infrastructure to provide speedy charging for businesses and fleet vehicles

• support for London’s expanding car club networks; and

• new ‘Neighbourhoods of the Future’ which will trial new innovative ways of promoting EVs at the local level

Read more: Standard