North East-based project and production company Culture Creative and AVID Electric Vehicles will join forces at a series of illuminated night time events entitled ‘The Electric Forest’ – a unique woodland experience conceived by the Culture Creative team and the Forestry Commission.

Experts at working in the great outdoors, Culture Creative prides itself on its strong environmental credentials – enter AVID’s 100% electric utility vehicle, the eBear, which will come on board at Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest this October to help the Culture Creative crew on-site throughout the unpredictable winter months.

Lesley Tweddle, marketing associate at AVID Vehicles, said: “Using only 1p worth of electricity per mile and being exceptionally quiet and clean with no exhaust emissions, the eBear is ideally suited to winter events such as The Electric Forest and ticks all the boxes where the environment is concerned. We thrilled to be involved in such a unique and exciting event.”

Zoe Bottrell, director of Culture Creative, said: “The team always ensures it is consistently sensitive to the environment it’s working in, so it’s great for the crew to have a vehicle on site which can get them from A to B in a controlled way without disrupting the surrounding woodland.

“We are essentially producing an event which plays off the natural environment but is in no way leaving it compromised. Having the eBear on board helps cement the message that we are two companies which pride ourselves on the same ethos; working with the natural environment and enabling people to enjoy it in a sensitive way – it’s the perfect partnership.”

Information about the event can be found here: www.TheElectricForest.co.uk

October 2011

For further information on AVID’s eBear vehicle, please contact Lesley Tweddle at AVID Vehicles on: 01670 706 100 or email Lesley@AVIDvehicles.com

The annual event, held in Corbridge on the bank holiday at the end of May is the highlight of the agricultural year, with last year’s event attracting over 28,000 people, and over 300 trade stands. This year, the eBear team are eager to showcase to such a large audience.

The eBear is the newest, most environmentally friendly vehicle on the market. Ideal for the agricultural market, owners who replace their current vehicles with an eBear can expect up to 100 miles of travel for less than £1 of electricity – a massive saving given today’s fuel prices. It can cut fuel bills by up to 95%.

With no carbon emissions, the vehicle is exempt from road tax and safe to use everyday across rugged farmland or even indoors. In addition, the vehicle costs can be offset against your taxable profits until 2013.

The eBear has many custom body options, making it suitable for a variety of activities including materials transport, site maintenance, salt spreading, snow clearing, trailer towing and more.

Tickets are available from the official event website, or can be purchased on the day, 31st May 2011, at Tynedale Park, Corbridge.

The college is among an initial wave of regional organisations to be given an electric vehicle produced by Cramlington-based Avid Vehicles. The trial is part of the Government funded Switch EV project – a nationwide initiative examining the potential for electrical vehicles and encouraging more people to consider using them.

It’s the largest programme of its kind in the world, and will see around 340 electric vehicles tested on the UK’s roads by a variety of organisations including councils and motoring clubs.

The College’s AutoSkills Centre team, who deliver professional, accredited training to the motor industry, are now the owners of an Avid CUE-V (compact urban electric vehicle).

Over the coming months, the team, based at Team Valley, Gateshead, will put the car through its paces on the region’s roads to find out exactly how well it performs and how drivers react to it. They will look at factors such as reliability, build quality and performance levels.

The team will also record how far the car can travel between battery recharges, for which they’ll use the college’s two charging points based at the AutoSkills Centre and the main Baltic Campus on Gateshead Quays.

Once the trial is complete, experts from Newcastle University will assess the data collected by the college and other participants in the project to produce a final report.

Mick Brophy, managing director of business, innovation and development at Gateshead College, said:

“Electric vehicles are being hailed as the future for motoring, particularly here in the North East. As the college is playing a key role in this new automotive revolution, by designing and delivering a new suite of ‘green’ training required by the industry developing, maintaining and manufacturing the new vehicles and technologies, it made sense for us to be involved in actually road testing the electric cars too.

Gateshead College is the preferred training partner for Nissan, the manufacturers of the new LEAF and delivers the UK’s first electric vehicle apprenticeship in partnership with Smiths Electric Vehicles.

Nick Gianfreda from Avid Vehicles said: “It’s key that we understand how people react to electric vehicles and their take-up.

“The information captured by the college team will provide vital feedback on things like how people react to electric cars and how they feel before and after driving them.

“It will help us to assess the potential for electrical vehicle growth in this country and the long term impact.

“We also want to set this region up as a major hub for the development of electric vehicles. We’ve got the infrastructure set up, now we want the people of the North East to experience them.”

Dr Colin Herron, manufacturing and productivity manager at One North East, said: “This is a great example of a local business entering the new low carbon economy. The Switch EV project will help bring together local production and develop the skills require for the new technology.

“Together with the recent announcement that the test track and workshop building at Nissan has been signed over to Gateshead College on a 20-year lease, its another example of how the North East is a leader in the development of the low carbon vehicle industry in the UK.”

Source: Gateshead College

April 14, 2011

AVID Vehicles, based at the Admiral Business Park, in Cramlington, is working with academics from Newcastle University on research which aims to assist the development of the green technology.

Almost 50 cars are now being tracked, analysed and logged by academics from the school of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, including cars from AVID.

Nick Gianfreda, of AVID vehicles, said: “People have a lot of misconceptions about electric cars, about them being slow and with poor acceleration, but that is not the case.

“They can get decent top speeds and they are cheap to run too.”

Phil Blythe, professor of transport at Newcastle University, said: “Here in the North East we are the only trial where there is a significant electric vehicle charging infrastructure in place so we can actually measure the real behaviour of drivers – where they are charging their cars, how they are using them, etc.”

Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/northumberland-sites/cramlington-northumberland/cramlington-news/2011/04/06/avid-vehicles-take-part-in-electric-car-trial-61634-28470290/#ixzz1JIOhSFya

6th April 2011

by Amy Hunt, The Journal

THE first Nissan Leafs will be on North East roads within weeks as part of a trial of electric vehicles.

The battery-powered family cars will join electric black cabs, Range Rovers and a minibus in a pilot project asking motorists to try them out for between six and 12 months.

Switch EV is a three-year £10m project testing out 35 different electric vehicles in real situations to see how they perform and how drivers react to them.

It is due to get moving in just a few weeks’ time, with experts from Newcastle University monitoring data from the cars.

As partners in the scheme, Nissan is providing 15 of its Leaf models, which will be built at the firm’s Sunderland plant from 2013 and will be available to buy next year.

Smith Electric Vehicles in Washington is contributing five black cab-style taxis, which will be tested out over one year, along with an electric minibus.

Liberty Electric Cars are providing electric Range Rovers, while Avid Vehicles will pitch in 11 small city electric cars.

John Austin, senior programme manager for Future Transport Systems, which is delivering the project, said: “It’s key that we understand how people react to electric vehicles and their take-up. We will be capturing data – how people react to the cars, how they feel before and after driving the cars.

“This will generate a lot of potential for economic growth and we hope it will have a lot of impact. We want to set this region up as a major hub for the development of electric vehicles. We’ve got the infrastructure set up, now we want the people of the North East to experience them.”

Individuals and firms from across the North East have been lined up to take part in the scheme and will be asked to write blogs about their experiences on the website www.switchev.co.uk

Drivers will use the North East’s network of charging points which is being rolled out as part of the Plugged in Places initiative. There are already 32 charging points in Newcastle, with 17 more due to go out shortly.

Meanwhile plans to roll out 30 recharging points for electric vehicles have been drawn up by Sunderland City Council.

The 30 Elektrobay charging points will be distributed in 11 council-run car parks across the city. As an incentive, four hours’ free parking will be available during re-charging with free electricity.

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Coun Paul Watson, said: “We’re seeing a lot of technological development in the North East for electric vehicles, and Sunderland is at the heart of these developments. The charging points will help make it easier for electric vehicle owners across all of Sunderland.”

Transport experts met at an event organised by Newcastle City Council to find out more about the region’s “Electric Car Revolution”.

Mick Murphy, director of technical services at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for those in the highways and transportation industry, to keep up to date with the developments and achievements that are being made in electric vehicle technologies across the region.”

Source: The Journal

Oct 4 2010

Why has it taken so long for people to catch on to electric vehicles? As LEWIS KILEEN suggests in this article, persuading the public to use it is not so much a technology problem, it’s a classic design problem.

The latest incarnation of the electric car, the Switch Electric Vehicle, will be featuring in this years London Design Festival. AVID Vehicles, the company behind the Switch Electric Vehicle, have taken a new approach on this highly debated technology. The AVID Switch EV uses M3 Multi Motor technology with Lithium Polymer batteries. The CUE-V, the prototype of this project, is a 100 volt vehicle which uses two motors one set above each front wheel, providing direct power where needed. The use of two motors solves previous issues such as power flow and demands. The battery packs are built with their own BMS control systems, which interestingly enough is similar to the control consoles that are found on lighting, and ventilation systems. These computer based consoles operate on a network which allows them to communicate with the rest of the vehicle, without the need of a central computer. This all allows the vehicle to maximise performance without trading on usability.

The CUE-V, has also made significant design improvements in making this new manifestation of the electric car differ from its predecessors. The frame of the design is similar to existing vehicles, however it has been modified to eliminate redundant weight and this has also allowed the entirety of the electric drive system to be installed outside of the luggage and passenger compartments, drastically increasing the capacity and usability of this prototype.

Nick Gianfreda, Spokesman for AVID Vehicles had this to say on the project “AVID has taken a different approach to make the vehicles as cost effective as possible and gain the maximum performance from technologies used. By removing all the redundant parts and systems a light, user friendly vehicle can be achieved. The design of the mechanical and electrical systems is key to a successful and cost effective project. Some other projects around eat up usable space in the car. The outside of the car has been restyled to give it a new, fresh appearance fitting to that of an electric vehicle”

The Switch Electric Vehicle has identified, and attempted to rectify several of the issues that has stopped existing ultra-low carbon emission technology from becoming widely accepted as the future of personal transport. The Switch EV looks the part as well, the aesthetically pleasant design doing away with the odd, squashed looking visage of it predecessors.

Electric vehicles have yet to be wholeheartedly accepted by the motoring public, this is due to several reason; from the design flaws that have been mentioned above to issues as elementary as market appeal. However it can’t be denied that ultra-low and low carbon emission technology have a vital role to play in the sustainability of Britain’s roads. David Quarmby, Chairman of RAC Foundation, is going to be delivering a lecture about the sustainability policy of London roads at this years London Design Festival. He also spoke to this reporter about the place the Switch EV and its predecessors have on London’s roads, and if social responsibility will ease the implementation of this new technology. “They have a critical place, but the question remains of exactly whether ‘ultra-low’ or just ‘low’ is still open, the outcome depends on factors such as relative costs to both the consumer and the government, practicalities such as battery charging and range, market attraction is also an issue. Conscience alone will not drive mass market adoption, even if a ‘concerned’ segment of the market are early adopters.”

The Switch EV has attacked and potentially eliminated several technical issues that have prevented electric car dealers from running out of stock; however you’ll have to decide if this electric powered people carrier is a people pleaser.

Source: SwitchEV
21 September 2010

Job hopes for Northumberland-based electric car firm

Avid Vehicles in Cramlington reckons it could be selling 6,500 cars within five years

More than 400 jobs could be created at an electric car maker in Northumberland.

Avid Vehicles, at the Nelson Industrial Estate, Cramlington, believes demand for its two models could transform the company.

Bosses have said the firm could be selling 6,500 cars a year within five years and that could mean an increase in annual turnover from £3m to £100m.

It is hoped the workforce will increase from 35 to up to 500.

The latest model, the Cue-V, is a five-door electric car which costs £45,000 to buy, although Avid said it was aimed at institutions such as universities or local authorities and not the private buyer.

Source: BBC News

by Tony Henderson, The Journal

THE Blyth festival will also see the launch of a new electric car … the E-Warrior.

Designed, developed and built by Cramlington-based AVID Vehicles, the four-wheel-drive utility vehicle is claimed to be the quietest and highest performing of its type.

The company, which was set up in 2008 and currently employs 22 people, is part of the new generation of North East firms at the forefront of electric car production.

It plans to manufacture about 500 of the E-Warriors next year and double that figure in 2012.

Although the “quadracycle” vehicle is suitable for both on and off-road use, it is expected to be in demand from companies and organisations running large estates and land holdings.

It has a range of 40 miles between charges and a top speed of 30mph.

Yesterday AVID Vehicles marketing associate Nick Gianfreda said the festival was an opportunity to raise awareness of the company and the E-Warrior before it goes into full production.

“We are one of very few companies that offer a fully electric utility vehicle with this kind of capability.”

Source: The Journal

Aug 14 2010