For a second year, the Great Electric Drive has been announced by the ESB. All in all, the ESB are looking for 24 ecar ambassadors to trial a range of electric vehicles for a four-month period during 2014 and 2015. The lucky people shall be chosen from all ages and occupations and will even include business organisations.
The range of electric cars looks interesting: there's the BMW i3, the Citroen C Zero, the Mitsubishi iMiEV, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid SUV (which we tested only last month), the Nissan LEAF, Renault ZOE and the Renault Kangoo Z.E. commercial van. So, obviously then, a wide mix of electric vehicles for different uses and various situations.
Dermot McArdle, Head of ecars, ESB commented: "We are delighted to be launching the Great Electric Drive again, which is building on the success of last year's trial. An electric car costs less than two cents a kilometre to fuel."
Irrespective of where the ambassadors are located, ESB says the vehicles will be able to be charged at home or at work, via a dedicated ecar charge point. If travelling farther afield, the vehicles can be charged at smart public charging networks, nationwide.
The ESB estimates that the average motorist could save over €2,300 a year, offering a real alterna-tive over petrol or diesel cars. Last year's Great Electric Drive saw 21 ecar ambassadors cover an average of 300km a week, meaning a combined fuel cost saving of €13,500 in total.
Anything else?
Want to get hooked up with your own EV? The ESB invites potential ecar ambassadors to apply at esb.ie/GreatElectricDrive or go to ESB ecars Facebook page www.facebook.com/ESBecars for more details. Closing date is March 4th, 2014.