A brand new EV car club vehicle is on trial in Wallingford.   This is part of a pilot – coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council and involving all Oxon District and City councils –  to assess the demand and suitable approach to EV car clubs in more urban/suburban/rural areas.  It is hoped that if well used this will lead to a permanent car club presence in the area and will inform a potentially county-wide scheme – but this will only happen if enough people use it.

Some key information on the scheme and the vehicle in Wallingford:

* The vehicle will be based at the Park and Charge hub at Cattle Market  car park (next to Jim Pink in Wood Street)  – this is where it will always be picked up from and returned to, and charged up at the very reliable and easy to use EZ-Charge chargers.

* The vehicle is supplied and operated by Co Wheels and can be booked via this dedicated website – https://www.co-wheels.org.uk/wallingford – which will have explainer videos on it to help people understand the booking process and how to drive the cars.

* The vehicle will be fully battery electric MG4 with a range of over 200 miles so more than enough for most people’s needs.

* Promo codes giving local people free sign up and free membership – see below for more details.

        * General information about the Oxfordshire EV car club pilot, locations of all 14 EV vehicles, and other useful info can be found at https://www.co-wheels.org.uk/wallingford

        * All cars in the pilot will be there initially for a trial period of one year, with the intention to make them permanent if they are working well for everyone at the end of the trial.  It is expected that uptake will start slowly, but if they are performing very badly after the first six months they may be moved or removed from the pilot – so please make use of this facility straightaway in order to make a good case for them staying around.

Discounts available, to Sustainable Wallingford members and others, are as follows:
* Free membership – normally £25
* No monthly charge – normally £5
* £10 driving credit

That’s a saving of £95 in the first year.
The promotional code you need is ‘wallingford10’.
This promotion will run for six months, and as mentioned above, keeping the car in Wallingford depends very much on lots of us using it as much as we can.

This is an exciting and valuable opportunity to try out an electric vehicle. It might also lead to you not needing a car of your own at all, thereby reducing your costs and carbon emissions.
Please do take up this generous offer from 4 April this year.