Transport for London (TfL) has issued a tender worth £67 million, for up to 1,300 zero and low carbon vehicles.
At the same time, the transport authority has issued a second tender for 25,000 electric vehicle charging points, worth up to £30 million.
Both tenders will run over four years and mark the UK's largest procurement contracts to date for electric vehicles and electric vehicle charge point infrastructure.
The tenders follow the announcement by TfL in March that it was establishing new procurement frameworks as part of the Mayor of London’s plans to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe.
The aim of the frameworks is to speed up the delivery of the Mayor’s plans by creating a shortlist of approved suppliers, making it easier and cheaper for TfL to buy vehicles, and enabling orders to be placed while keeping bulk buying prices economical.
TfL’s £67 million
green vehicle tender covers several different vehicle
technologies, including electric, hybrid and low carbon, with most of the funding (70 per cent) being ring-fenced for electric and hybrid passenger vehicles of up to eight seats. There is also funding for electric scooters and motorbikes, electric and hybrid minibuses and electric hybrid trucks.
Smiths Electric Vehicles bidding for TfL electric vehicle tender
Tyne and Wear-based Smiths Electric Vehicles confirmed it is one of the companies bidding for around £22 million worth of business in the electric vans, minibuses and trucks categories. Other potential bidders include Nissan, which is manufacturing its Leaf electric car in North East, and Elecscoot for scooters.
£30 million tender for charge point infastructure in London
The TfL charge point infrastructure tender is divided into two categories: infrastructure that allows for standard and faster types of charging technology (but excludes rapid charging equipment with outputs exceeding 50 kilowatts) and rapid charge point infrastructure, typically providing output of more than 50kW. It is anticipated that a significant majority of the £30 million budget will be spent on standard and faster types of charging technology.
TfL said the new charging infrastructure and the electric vehicles are intended to encourage Londoners to use a more sustainable form of private transport and support the Mayor's target to cut London's CO2 emissions by 60 per cent by 2025. Electric vehicles emit 30 to 40 per cent lower carbon emissions than comparable petrol or diesel cars.
In March, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "Over the next 12 months, Londoners will see 1600 electric vehicle charge points being installed across the city helping electric driving to become a common sense option for many people.
"By 2013 this will become 7,500 and by 2015 we want 25,000 in place.
"In plain terms, these procurement frameworks will allow us to drive down costs and achieve better value for money as we progress with our plans to expand vehicle usage."
The TfL procurement frameworks follow London's successful bid for £17 million worth of funding in February through the Government's
'Plugged-In Places' scheme.
Related news:
Green road transport news
Related sites:
www.tfl.gov.uk