The largest ever Cenex LCV event is taking place at Millbrook, Bedfordshire, having opened its doors yesterday to the low carbon vehicle industry. A number of important announcements and product launches were made on the first day of the event, which was opened by Climate Change and Industry Minister Nick Hurd MP.
Among the main announcements was the launch of the Electric Nation project. This trial is looking to sign-up 500-700 new electric vehicle drivers – both plug-in hybrid and pure EV – to test a smart charging solution that should allow large numbers of EVs to be charged during peak times.
Other announcements included the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Competition winners, taking home a share of £2.45 million. More than 50 businesses were awarded funds to help develop advanced projects, with the backing of the Niche Vehicle Network, Innovate UK, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, and the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
EV charging technology was on display from just about every point manufacturer and network in the UK market. New products on display included Rolec’s new EV Charge Online system, Chargemaster’s UltraCharger, and The New Motion network.
Vehicles were on display and available to ride and drive from the names including: Tesla, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, VW, Mitsubishi, Toyota, BYD, Delta Motorsport, Caterham, Westfield, Morgan, Ariel, Tata, Riversimple, Bosch, Mahle, and Ricardo. There were also autonomous driving vehicles being demonstrated, and powertrains on show included efficient petrol and diesel engines, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, LPG, and hydrogen.
