Oxfordshire offers charging and hire for World EV Day
Electric vehicle (EV) owners and hirers across Oxfordshire will be able to take advantage of a range of offers this World EV Day.
World EV Day, which takes place on 9 September, is an annual event aiming to highlight the progress in e-mobility and promote the shift to electrified transport. This year, EV charging point companies will be offering deals for drivers across Oxfordshire, including free charging.
In addition, there will be an option to join a county-wide EV car club scheme, with deals during World EV Day saving money on membership and hire fees.
Plans include Fastned, Tesla and Wenea offering free charging for the whole day for any EV at their charging points at Redbridge Park and Ride. EZ Charge, which operates 250 charging points at 20 park and charge sites across Oxfordshire, will be offering app members the first hour of charging for free and RAW Charging, which operates on-street bollards, will also offer free charging.
Blink charging, which also operates charging in the region, will be marking World EV Day with a donation to charities working to eradicate lung disease, and Co Wheels Car Club will be offering a special promotional code for new members who sign up before World EV Day.
Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “Over 50 per cent of new car sales in Oxfordshire are fully electric: we are UK leaders in the gathering momentum behind the switch to electric vehicles nationally. EVs have gone from a rarity to a common sight on our roads in only a few years.
“World EV Day is a way of marking this important change, signposting people to useful information and advice about making the switch, offering innovative opportunities to experience electric driving, as well as helping and guiding those who have already made that switch
Councillor Louise Upton, Oxford City Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities, said: “World EV Day is about celebrating and thanking those making the switch to go electric. With a growing second-hand and car-sharing market, more and more people are moving to electric and Oxfordshire is continuing to lead the uptake. If you are an EV driver, why not take advantage of one of the many offers, and if you’re curious about electric cars this is a great time to try one out by joining an EV car club.”
Councillor Andrew McHugh, Cherwell District Council Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said “Electric vehicles are an important element of the shift we need to make as a society to meet the challenge of climate change and improve air quality in our urban areas. We’re playing our part with park and charge sites and EV car clubs operating in council car parks across Cherwell district. There’s already a great level of take-up for electric vehicles in north Oxfordshire and I hope that World EV Day helps further drive enthusiasm for them with some of the offers that are available for local motorists.”
Councillor Freddie van Mierlo, South Oxfordshire District Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Nature Recovery said: “World EV Day is a good opportunity to highlight the benefits of EVs, such as reduced carbon and lower running costs. With new petrol and diesel vehicles banned from 2030 and EVs increasingly popular, we want to make it as easy as possible to make the shift. The EV chargers that we installed in some of our council-run car parks last year are already being well used.”
Councillor Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council and Cabinet Member Climate Action and the Environment, said: “The EV car clubs now in council-run car parks, like those we have in Abingdon and Wantage, are a great step forward in reducing carbon emissions, lowering the numbers of individual vehicles on our roads and helping bring down the cost of driving. We hope people will take up the special introductory offers this week which make the cost of EV car clubs even lower.”
Councillor Andrew Prosser, West Oxfordshire District Council Executive Member for Climate Change, said: “As we celebrate World EV Day, it’s really exciting to see so many new electric cars being registered in Oxfordshire and ultimately our roads becoming cleaner. We hope more people will give driving an electric vehicle a go and the new county-wide EV car clubs are an easy and affordable way of getting behind the wheel of one without the need of owning your own car.”
Ade Thomas, Oxford resident and Founder of World EV Day, said: “World EV Day, like many great ideas, was born out of an Oxford-based organisation, Green.TV Media. So, we’re delighted it’s now both a major global campaign, and an idea supported by Oxford City Council with its free EV charging for a day, in partnership with the local charge point operators.”
