A New Electric Vehicle Centre is opening in Milton Keynes
Published Date: 22nd Feb 2017
The current UK leading provider for charging stations in the UK Chargemaster, has now won a new contract to build, setup and run The Electric Vehicle Experience Centre.
The first of its kind to open in the UK, the EV centre will be a multi brand shopping centre showroom dedicated to new electric cars. Milton Keynes was chosen and awarded a £9million fund in January 2016 by the Go Ultra Low campaign funded by the Office for low emissions or OLEV.
The Go Ultra Low Campaign is backed by the Society of Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and a collection of manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Kia, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen.
The Funding for the new electric car experience is aimed at increasing public awareness and encouraging the uptake of low emission vehicles and hit the target of 23% of total car sales being purely electric or plug in hybrid by 2021.
The whole project is launching in the spring 2017 and is located right within Milton Keynes premier shopping centre
Other investments for the city come in the form of £2.3 million, this will be put straight into the charging infrastructure of the city. Two new filling station style electric hubs with rapid charging and 50 new chargers will be built across Milton Keynes.
Another part of the scheme will include free parking for ultra low emissions vehicles, trials of new technology including inductive charging and other projects to improve the public’s perception of new EVs.
The New Electric Vehicle Experience Centre
The experience centre itself will also help locals understand the potential and fuel savings offered through owning an electric car. Alongside all the latest technology and models from the manufacturers there will be highly trained professionals on hand to answer any queries and refer potential customers on to the relevant dealer or lease partner. Local residents and businesses will be able to test drive the vehicles in the short or long term basis.
Brian Matthews, Head of Transport Innovation at Milton Keynes said: “Our commitment to making Milton Keynes a go-to destination and flagship Go Ultra Low city starts with our residents. We’re delighted to be working with Chargemaster on this project, and are confident that the team is best placed to champion the EV sector, considering their knowledge and experience of the industry.”
David Martell, Chargemaster CEO, said: “Being part of such a high-profile and diverse project is very exciting for Chargemaster. The centre will be the first of its kind and we are sure it will pave the way for other cities to follow. We are looking forward to welcoming Milton Keynes shoppers and showing them everything that going green has to offer.”