The 100% electric Nissan LEAF is playing a major role in the launch of a new nationwide E-car club in Milton Keynes.

The E-Car club will be offering Milton Keynes residents and businesses the chance to sign up to the scheme and hire a LEAF for around £5.50 per hour. 

Three of the 100% electric five door Nissans have been purchased by E-Car Club.

Members of the scheme are given a smart card and pin code and once they have booked a vehicle online, by phone or on their mobile they can walk to where the LEAF is parked, tap the card on a reader in the screen, unplug the charging cable and drive it away.

E-Car’s mission is to increase mobility while reducing travel costs and emissions. E-Car will be launching in North Oxford with a further two Nissan LEAFs later this autumn.

There are three ways for businesses to access a LEAF through the E-Car Club scheme.

Pay as you Go– businesses join the club and add drivers to their account with monthly itemised billing on account holder’s usage hours

Business Account– if a company is going to hire a vehicle for a few hours per week, a business account entitles them to a 20% discount and the ability to block book vehicles in advance. Usage can be tracked online and costs are invoiced monthly.

E-Car hosting– if a hub isn’t available locally, businesses can provide a publicly accessible parking space for a vehicle and E-Car will take care of the rest. Businesses can replace or extend their existing fleet with zero emission vehicles with E-Car managing the fleet on their behalf.

“We welcome the launch of E-Car Club as it makes LEAF accessible to a number of consumers and business users who previously may not have had access to an electric vehicle,” explained Barry Beeston, Nissan’s fleet sales director.

“E-Car has some excellent corporate services set up which are increasingly important as companies aim to reduce their carbon footprint,” he added.

“We believe E-Car is being launched at a very exciting time for motorists as many want to experiment with driving an electric car before they make the decision to own one,” explained E-Car chairman Andrew Wordsworth.

“We hope to grow the E-Car Club network over the coming months,” he added.

Each E-Car club is set up in cooperation with local communities and low carbon groups to ensure it runs the type of vehicle that potential users require.

To find out more about E-Car Club or Read more about Electric cars on Drive.co.uk/Electric-Cars