We take a look at what's happening in the world of electric travel in a special event in Dudley.
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00:00So it's a very drizzly and grey morning here at the Very Light Rail Innovation Centre and
00:06I'm here with Kez from Black Country Transport. Kez, why is it so exciting, this event here
00:11today? Yeah, so this is one of our first big public
00:15events really. We want to bring the transition to electric vehicles to the public. So today
00:22we've got a range of vehicles, so cars, e-scooters and also e-bikes for people to try, so they
00:28can kind of get to grips with how these things work and hopefully kind of bring people up
00:33to speed with how these things work now. I think there's some misconceptions and some
00:38myths that we're trying to bust today about how electric vehicles work and the capabilities
00:42that they have now, so that's what we're doing. Cool, so what are one or two of these misconceptions
00:48because the people listening and reading might think, oh actually I thought that. So what
00:53are these kind of, a couple of the most common ones would you say?
00:56Yeah, so I think a big one is around range. So the range of electric vehicles has come
01:00along a really long way in the last few years. So I think people kind of still have the perception
01:05that it's kind of the Nissan leased from maybe 10 years ago that could only do maybe 60 miles
01:09to a charge, but now most new EVs are doing 200 miles to a single charge. So that really
01:15takes away a lot of the range anxiety that people had. And I think otherwise it's things
01:20around kind of public charging network and all the work that we're doing as an organisation
01:24but also lots of other organisations are doing to try and make sure we've got a really
01:27good network of electric vehicle charging points. Brilliant, thank you so much. So what
01:33is so important about an event like this in Dudley? What's so important about an event
01:37like this in Dudley is that 200 years ago the industrial revolution started here in
01:42Dudley in the black country and 200 years later we have another round of innovation
01:50and the industrial revolution in means of public transport and transport itself. There
01:56are all sorts of transport schemes here, mainly today electrification, but here at the Black
02:03Country Innovation Centre, again with the Very Light Rail Institute as well, what better
02:09way to launch this event than here today in Dudley in the black country. Completely agree.
02:14And Damian, why should black country people be excited about these kind of things? Well
02:18I think to follow on really from what Patrick said, Dudley was the centre of the industrial
02:22revolution over 200 years ago, now we're into a new realm of innovation and we're so proud
02:29now that Dudley's going to be the driving force of future vehicle propulsion and futuristic
02:34powers and this is such an exciting event this morning where we're showcasing vehicles from
02:39large vans to family sized cars to bikes and scooters so we're really really proud that
02:47Dudley's driving the force beyond us. Thank you both so much. Paul and Richard, you're
02:52here with Energy Saving Trust, can you tell us why you're here and what you're representing?
02:58Good morning, so I'm here as you say for Energy Saving Trust, helping local authorities, businesses
03:05and other organisations to decarbonise transport and most of the stuff we're doing at the moment
03:12today is around electric vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure but of course we do
03:16provide other advice and information as people as well about how to decarbonise their homes,
03:21their businesses and generally deal with the challenge of the climate emergency. What are
03:26some of the main benefits then do you think? The benefits are going to be giving us a sustainable
03:33planet that we can all live on and cleaner, greener energy for the future. Brilliant,
03:38thank you. So I'm with Richard from Chargy and he's going to tell us about how some people
03:43who don't have driveways can also still have an electric vehicle. So hi Richard,
03:47what are you here today to show people? Hi there, so I'm here from Chargy, we're showing
03:53our on-the-street residential charge points so we do low-power AC charging for people who don't
03:59have driveways so you can still benefit from affordable, reliable charging. Brilliant and so
04:04what are some kind of like interesting things that people might not know about charging an
04:09electric vehicle? I think the main thing is people think that if you don't have a driveway
04:14it's going to be really expensive and that can be if you're filling up with rapid chargers at a
04:18motorway service station but that doesn't have to be the case. So we can put a charge point on a
04:23lamppost or a polo in the street that will support up to up to 10 drivers and allow you to plug in
04:30overnight so slow charging you will might take 10 hours might take 12 hours but while you're
04:37asleep while your car's parked you can charge up. Oh that's brilliant, thank you so much.
04:41Alright so Alex, you're here with Dacia, is this the new one, when's it coming out? So the spring's
04:46already been released, we're still awaiting our first factory orders to come through. We've been
04:52given a left-hand drive one for the dealership, we're not allowed to drive that one at the
04:55minute. A bit dangerous? A little bit yeah, but I mean it's a left-hand drive, just keep it stuck in the dealership.
05:02I mean so are there some cool safety features in this car then? There is yeah, so there's a lot of
05:07I mean NCAP have definitely enforced a lot of stuff for electric cars as of late, they've got them
05:11from numerous tests and that sort of thing. Obviously the spring being the size it is, I mean
05:15it's smaller than a Clio, it's smaller than, I mean it's probably on par with the Zoe, so you
05:20have to think they've got enforced by a lot of safety features. So they've still got the side air
05:24bags, the front air bags, rear air bags, they've got actually everything. It's got lane assist, speed assist, that sort of thing.
05:30And it's so small and it's still got all of those things packed into it. I mean if you look at the
05:34wheels and stuff, I mean it's tiny, it's a really small car. Yeah let's have a look. If you think of
05:38electric efficiency. Look at those tiny wheels there, they're tiny. And so how far does it go then? Because it's small, but I'm guessing it's got a big battery.
05:46This is very much a big introduction to EV for most people, so if they're looking at switching
05:51over, they're looking at making a switch, but they also want to keep their own personal car,
05:54you've got to be looking towards about 140 miles combined. But for most people it's described as a city car,
06:00drivers nipping around, so you know, you might need the lights, you might not, but if you don't,
06:06that's the end. That's part of it, so I mean, and this is quite an affordable, I mean people think that
06:11electric cars are ridiculously affordable. Because we've heard of Teslas, so this is affordable for the
06:17average family. So it starts at £14,995, the top step, including the top battery, it's £16,995 obviously, besides the colour, so it's all T&Cs.
06:24Yeah. But in terms of the price for it, I mean you're paying less, you're paying less than a
06:28manual Clio. For a brand new electric car. So it's definitely got the value for money.
06:35Thank you Alex, that was awesome. So Lauren you're about to have a test drive. I am, I'm a little bit
06:41worried. These guys I think are more worried than me, because I'm actually going to be driving
06:46the van. But yeah, really excited to see how the electric van works. I've never heard
06:51of an electric van actually. I know I have with DPD and stuff. Yeah, cool. Right, let's see how you get on.
07:00How you feeling Lauren? Guys, I'm a little bit scared, but I'm really excited, because obviously I've never
07:04driven anything this big before. Let's see how it goes. Talk about chucking yourself at the deep end,
07:10when you've got an electric van. In your pocket, out the way. And then we're going to put it into
07:17drive. So if you just forget about your left foot now. Okay. And so when you put it into there,
07:23you just slide over to drive. And then what the vehicle will do is, once you've got
07:27enough power to move forward, we'll release the handbrake. Release, okay. And that'll do it
07:32automatically? Yeah. All right, going into drive. Oh, there's a big truck. I hope it's the first challenge.
07:39Looks like they've stopped. Okay. All right, so now I've let go of the brake, but do I just start
07:44like that? Whoa, all right guys. Indicate. Safety first. Safety first. I'll see, I told you I'm a
07:52brilliant driver. Wow, this is so fun. I feel like I'm the king of the road. Honestly, I don't want
07:59to go back to my tiny little Ford Ka anymore. This is like completely opposite. This is so smooth and
08:05quiet. Do you drive this yourself? I do, yeah. So if you was to squeeze the accelerator a little
08:11bit more, you'll feel instant power as well. Because it runs off one gear. It just straight
08:19away I can see that. How fast does this go? I've not topped it out as of yet, but it definitely
08:24does 70 comfortably. All right, let's go. If we indicate right, spin it around the island.
08:29Wow, this is so much easier than I was expecting it to be, you know?
08:34The control, like the handling is so easy. It doesn't feel heavy. It feels just, you know,
08:41just as easy as your normal car. And I think being electric as well, it's just so quiet and smooth.
08:45Yeah. Really nice and smooth. Honestly, I just want to keep driving. I said I don't want to go
08:49on the road, but I'm going to take it all the way around. Do you want to take it on the road?
08:53We'll go to, oh no, I don't think so. I'll take it to the McDonald's drive-thru.
08:57It won't fit underneath the drive-thru.
09:01Oh, so that was really, okay, so I'm going to turn right back and get you.
09:04Should I turn right? Just carry on straight. There's the entrance, don't run the cyclist.
09:09So even when I went to, even when I took my foot off the accelerator there,
09:16is that guy going to get out of the way? It's all right, it's John. He's one of ours.
09:20Shall I beat the horn at everyone? No, it would give them a big fright, wouldn't it? I would never
09:24do that. Wow, that was really fun. So as soon as I take my foot off the accelerator,
09:32it slows down like straight away. So what it does, it starts to regenerate.
09:36Yeah. So it starts trying to put the power,
09:39just wait there a second, the height. I misjudged this.
09:45So when you're driving the vehicle, it will try and regenerate for you.
09:49Wow. I'm not going to ask you to park in that gap.
09:52Should I do a parallel park in this huge van? All right, where should I put it then?
09:56Just drop it. Actually, just pause here, Lauren.
09:58Yeah. I'm going to jump out and video you.
10:14How was that then? That was so much fun. It was so much easier
10:17than I was expecting it to be, actually. It was like driving a normal car, but better and quieter
10:21and smoother. So it's definitely something to consider, I think.
10:26All right, let's put that into... Have you done that already?