These results were obtained from an analysis of initial data from the Technology Strategy Board's £25 million Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator trial by Aston University. It covers the first quarter of a real world year–long trial of 25 Mitsubishi i-MiEVS in the West Midlands.

In the trial 22 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs fitted with a GPS and data logger have been handed over to members of the public. Over a minimum of 12 months they use it as they would any other vehicle.

The data being recorded includes the frequency, length and duration of each journey, the ambient temperature and the speed of the vehicle. Data is sent out every minute when the car is in use (i.e. ignition is on) and every 15 minutes when it is parked.

Journey data indicates that the i-MiEV is more than capable of catering for driver's day-to-day needs with most journeys made being less than five miles (when conventional fossil-fuelled engines are most polluting and catalytic converters are at their least effective).

Despite such short journey requirements, modern electric vehicles are capable of travelling a much greater range (up to 80 miles is possible). The data shows that an average overall distance of 23 miles was travelled each day by drivers, giving "a reassuring margin for flexibility should longer journeys be required" according to Neil Butcher, Arup's project leader of the CABLED - Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators - a consortium made up of 13 organisations, led by Arup.

They include six vehicle manufacturers - Jaguar/Land Rover, Mitsubishi/Colt, Mercedes Benz/smart, Tata Motors, LTI and Microcab Industries - who are contributing their own vehicles towards the low carbon scheme, which includes a mix of fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Electricity providers E.ON are delivering charging points for the trial with assistance from the city councils of Birmingham and Coventry.

"The report data tells us that the vehicles are parked for around 97 per cent of the time, with usage particularly low during school hours and overnight. Coupled with the fact that electric vehicles are quick and easy to plug in, this means that drivers can easily recharge and be capable of maximum range journeys without inconvenience", Mr Butcher said.

If all UK car journeys of less than 50 miles were made by electric rather than conventional vehicles, Arup believe that the savings in CO2 on a well to wheel basis would equate to taking 7.5 millions cars off the roads.

Of course it will take many years to achieve this, but huge CO2 and energy savings will be possible as the anticipated UK smart grid integrates more renewable energies.

"The evidence tells us that drivers habitually charge their vehicles, whether the battery is half full or nearly empty, in much the same way as laptop computer and mobile phone users. Unsurprisingly the most popular time to charge vehicles was overnight when inactivity ensures drivers can easily return vehicles to full charge by the morning and have more than adequate range to meet their daily needs," commented Tim Armitage, Arup EV infrastructure expert.

Brian Price, Aston University added: "Collecting data from real-world usage of electric vehicles through our satellite mapping and on-board telemetry has been essential in understanding the actual demands and requirements placed on EVs by the end user.

"The journey data gathered is already showing that the current generation of ultra low carbon vehicles are cheap to run as well as being comparable to petrol & diesel vehicles for speed, ease of use and daily journey distance; using less than 30% of total charge in typical daily use.

"The next phase of the study will allow us to map out an optimal charging point network to further extend range and improve the convenience of electric cars."

For further details, including a copy of the research, please contact Stuart Haynes or Stuart Humphreys at Grayling on 0121 265 2760 or email Stuart.Haynes@grayling.com