Two of the world's largest car firms kicked off trials of their flagship electric vehicles this weekend as part of a nationwide pilot scheme backed by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

Mitsubishi's electric i-MiEVs and BMW's electric Mini were both distributed to participants in the trial, which is intended to inform both the development of the yet-to-be-released vehicles and the government's wider electric car strategy.

Mini's electric car trial began in Oxford where 40 customers picked up their cars as part of a pilot scheme that has seen a special charging points fitted at the homes of the successful applicants and data collection devices fitted to each of the Mini Es.

The company said that the six-month project was intended to evaluate the psychological, social and technical aspects of living with an electric car. The information will be collected by Oxford Brookes University and then made publicly available.

The Mini E is based on the Mini hatchback, but the back seat is converted to store batteries. The 35kWh lithium-ion battery powers a 201bhp electric motor, which provides similar acceleration to a standard mini.

BMW – which owns Mini – says the overall CO2 emissions from the car equates to roughly 68g/km, which is around half the CO2 emitted by a 1.25l Ford Fiesta. It added that the emissions related to the vehicle would fall over time as more renewable energy plays a greater role in the UK's energy mix.

The trial has been part-subsidised by the TSB with participants in the trial paying £330 a month, excluding charging costs, for use of the vehicles. BMW estimates a full charge will cost £1.50 at night and £4.00 during the day. It added that each full charge will give the vehicle a range of about 150 miles.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi's pilot scheme has seen 25 i-MiEVs, the electric version of its compact four-seat, four-door, rear-engined "i" city car, distributed to customers in the midlands.

The cars were distributed as part of the £15m Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators (Cabled) project, which will ultimately see 110 vehicles trialled in Birmingham and Coventry.

Under the scheme, Indian auto giant Tata will contribute 25 electric Indicas, Microlab will provide 10 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Land Rover is to supply five Range_e plug-in hybrids and LTI will provide five electric taxis.

E.ON, Birmingham City Council and Coventry City Council will also install electrical charging points for the vehicles and arrange access to the University of Birmingham's hydrogen refuelling station.

The launch of the trials came as business secretary Lord Mandelson announced plans for a new £19m competition to help accelerate the development of electric vehicles. More details of the competition are expected to be announced in February.

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