Oxfordshire's electric car club scheme to continue

The electric car club initiative, launched in April 2023, allows people to hire the cars on an hourly or daily basis.

The idea is to give people the chance to access an electric vehicle without the expense of owning or leasing one outright.

The scheme has attracted more than 1,200 new members and saw more than 5,200 individual hiring sessions, which has led to more than a quarter of a million electric miles being driven.

Due to the success of the trial scheme, the car club vehicles will remain in several locations.

These are Abingdon’s Cattle Market and West St Helen Street car parks, Banbury’s Calthorpe Street West and Windsor Street car parks, Bicester’s Claremont car park, Eynsham’s Back Lane car park, Henley’s Greys Road car park, Oxford’s Redbridge and Seacourt Park and Rides, Wallingford’s Cattlemarket car park, and Witney’s Woodford Way car park.

Jan Simmonds from Zimbl and Hannah Budnitz from Oxford University with one of the cars (Image: Oxfordshire County Council) New car club vehicles are also set to be introduced at Chipping Norton’s New Road car park, Woodstock’s Hensington Road car park, and Thame’s Upper High Street.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council with responsibility for climate change, environment, and future generations, said: "The popularity of the electric vehicle car clubs has led to the continuation of the schemes in many places, meaning even more residents and businesses can try out these shared cars for themselves.

"Car clubs give people the chance to use an electric vehicle when they need one, without the expense of owning or leasing one outright.

"They can make it much more affordable for people who don’t drive every day and provide real-world experience of driving electric without a long-term commitment."

It is estimated a successful car club vehicle can replace an average of 20 individually owned cars, often petrol or diesel vehicles.

Electric vehicles in the scheme can be hired from £5.95 per hour, including insurance, plus 12p per electric mile.

If demand for car clubs continues and funding can be identified, more locations are likely to be introduced in the next few years, the county council said.

Residents can submit locations where they would like car clubs using Oxfordshire County Council’s electric vehicle charger and car club demand tracker.

The scheme was coordinated by Oxfordshire County Council, with support from Oxford City Council and district councils in Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse, and West Oxfordshire.

The pilot vehicles were hosted in their car parks and provided and operated by hire companies Co Wheels, Enterprise CarClub, and Zimbl.