Milton Keynes Council and the Renault-Nissan Alliance have signed an agreement setting out a road map for the roll-out of electric vehicles and infrastructure in the borough.

This latest agreement details the commitments that both parties are making in order to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in Milton Keynes.

The council will support the development of a network of charging posts and the Renault-Nissan Alliance will make electric vehicles available for the public to buy.

Under the agreement, Milton Keynes Council will facilitate the installation of 430 electric vehicle charging points in a mixture of public and private locations in the city, plus up to two thousand points in homes.

Drivers will receive local incentives to switch to electric vehicles, such as free charging and free parking at city centre posts, as well as national Government incentives which could include up to £5,000 towards the cost of an electric car.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, in its partnership with Milton Keynes, has agreed to place priority on requests for electric vehicles in the UK from Milton Keynes.

Nissan will supply the Nissan LEAF from early 2011.

Kunio Nakaguro, Senior Vice president and head of European R&D said: "Today’s agreement demonstrates that by working together, local government and EV car manufacturers like the Renault-Nissan Alliance can create the right framework for electric vehicles to succeed.”

Roland Bouchara, Renault UK’s managing director, added: “In partnership with Nissan we are excited to be working with Milton Keynes Council as one of the first to be involved with Plugged-in-Places programme.

"The agreement between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Milton Keynes Council presents a great opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of our range of electric vehicles in a realistic environment and is a significant step towards our goal of bringing affordable electric mobility to the mass market.”

The agreement forms part of the council’s Low Carbon Living agenda.

 

Last year, Milton Keynes signed up to the Joined-Cities Plan which will create a network of vehicle recharging points across the country.

Earlier this year, Milton Keynes Council secured funding through the Government’s £30-million Plugged-in-Places scheme to help build the charging infrastructure.