Electric Mia gets green light for Government grants

IF YOU liked the little Mia electric van Life On Cars tested a couple of weeks ago then the Governnment have got some good news for you.

The secretary of state for transport confirmed this week that the French-made zero emissions vehicle - which is unusual because it only comes in middle-hand-drive - is eligible for both the ‘Plug-In Car’ and ‘Plug-In Van’ Grants, and confirmed that Mia's offerings meet all the safety, reliability, performance and warranty standards necessary for the UK market.

As a result the standard short wheelbase model (mia-U) will retail at approximately £21,000 and the two extended models, the mia L and the mia box van, will both retail at approximately £22,000.

Last month Life On Cars reported on the Mia's local connection - a Southport man is helping UK companies to test the car for possible fleet use in the future.

The Southport car company getting charged up by electric motoring

A SOUTHPORT man has joined forces with a French electric car firm in a bid to encourage businesses across the north west to use more eco-friendly vehicles.

David Cowperthwaite, of Fylde Road, has teamed up with the makers of the Mia electric van in a bid to persuade companies to reduce their carbon footprint, and said that the unusual vehicle has already attracted attention from police forces, local authorities and the Royal Mail.

He has set up the Marshside-based firm TYC Electric Vehicles to help distribute the van in the UK, and told Life On Cars:

“I took the Mia to Liverpool last week to show it to an organisation interested in trying out electric vehicles, and we went down the M57. Even though we did a lot of miles and had the wipers and the lights on at 50mph it just kept on going and kept its charge, so electric vehicles can go a lot longer than people think.

"The organisations that have tried it have been really impressed with its performance and by how quiet it was, although with it being middle-hand-drive quite a few of them couldn't get used to sitting in the middle! The vehicle leaves no carbon footprint at all and you don't have to pay any road tax on it, so companies could save themselves thousands if they ran one over a couple of years instead of a van powered by fossil fuel."

Electrically-powered vans have this week been given a fresh boost by the Government after the Department For Transport announced that they would offer grants to businesses which buy them, which ministers say will save firms as much as £8,000 per vehicle as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Among the organisations which have expressed an interest in the Mia is Merseytravel, who declined to comment but did confirm they had been looking at the vehicle as a possible addition to their fleet in the future.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said: "Electric vehicles are the arrowhead for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market we’ll begin to see sales gather pace. Car buyers have had a year to take advantage of our grant and now it’s time for van buyers to get their chance to go electric. This is great news for businesses given the lower running costs of these vehicles – fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factor influencing their decision on what to buy.

“It is radical initiatives like these which will allow us to create a transport system that both cuts carbon and is an engine for economic growth.”

Charge up the... Mia Electric

THE ingredients would make for a mouth-watering supercar. It is rear-engined and rear-wheel drive, like a 911. The driving position is in the middle, just as it is in a McLaren F1. And it’s all put together by a small French specialist – just like the legions of Venturis, Alpines and Matras car enthusiasts love.

But the recipe is for a small electric van that’s full of surprises.

The Mia – which Life On Cars is one of the first publications in the region to test drive – is a battery-powered load lugger which Brit buyers will be able to order as either a car or a van, and the Franco-German firm which builds them are hoping a warm response over here will help them hit their production target of 10,000 cars a year. The van I tested was small and upright in the vein of, say, the Bedford Rascal beloved of small businesses back in the Eighties, but clock the smooth contours and you realise that’s where the similarities end.

Once you get used to that central driving position you realise the interior’s got all the gadgets you’d expect but is still sparsely laid out – if anything, it reminded me of the Lotus Elise, which also has a dashboard limited to a simplistic bar running across the cabin. It might not have been the last word in luxury, but I liked it.

Yet what really impressed was the way it drove, which is far better than you’d expect an electrically-propelled city slicker to manage. The steering was a little on the light side but I actually enjoyed the oomph offered up the little Mia, while the easy-going ride and the tidy handling will keep your passengers on either side happy. You almost forget that you’re limited to a top speed of 60mph.

Admittedly, it costs £20,000 – the same as a decently-specced Ford Transit – and only does 80 miles on a charge but I get where the Mia is coming from. If you’re one of those small businesses who raved about the Rascal then I reckon you’d love one of these, because it offers up the same sort of cargo space, it’s cheap to run, a doddle to park and makes other motorists look because it’s cute. If all you do are deliveries around town then the Mia’s a capable and eco-friendly contender for your cash.

It’s also – with the going rate for a secondhand McLaren F1 soaring into the millions – probably the only middle-hand-drive car I’ll ever test.