CO WHEELS ANNOUNCES SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PLAN AFTER UK CAR CLUB INTEREST SOARS 

NATIONAL car club, Co Wheels, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, has announced plans to reduce the number of privately owned vehicles on the roads in the UK over the next 12 months through the introduction of a number of sustainability and community driven initiatives.

The announcement comes after the release of data by CoMoUK, the charity for the public benefit of shared cars, bikes, e‑scooters and rides, showed rapid adoption of car share schemes across the UK. The CoMoUK Car Club Annual Report for Great Britain 2020 revealed that there are over 600,000 car club members in the UK and those interviewed in the research reported cost savings against car ownership as high as £1,000 in a year.

Richard Falconer, managing director of Co Wheels, said: “Co Wheels was one of the first car clubs in the UK back in 2008 and we have remained at the forefront of innovation in the sector ever since. We were set up to provide an environmentally friendly, socially just, community-based alternative to car ownership and it is these values which are going to propel the business forward in 2021.

“Our growth will be achieved through engaging with our communities across the UK to understand their specific needs and provide transport solutions which work for the real people living and working in those areas. Alongside this we are looking to work with businesses, property developers and local authorities who share our principles and vision for a greener future for communities. We are actively pursuing wider mobility partnerships – from working with community, transport and environmental groups and councils, as well as other green transport providers such as e.bikes and e.scooters to provide more sustainable and joined up transport solutions. If we work together with other likeminded groups and individuals, trying to integrate apps, are smarter about collaboration on promotional initiatives then we are being more than just a car club, we add real community value.

“Co Wheels currently operates the largest electric and hybrid fleet in the UK right now and with most cars in the UK sitting on the drive 97 percent of the time, we’re making it more accessible for people to have the option to hire a low carbon pay-as-you-go car for the 3 percent of time they do need to use a car, rather than owning their own vehicle – it’s far cheaper and better for the environment this way.

“Our primary focus is to help our members save money, reduce car ownership and create a cleaner environment by making lower emission transport operations available to everyone.”

Every car club car takes 18.5 private cars off the road in the UK which in total amounts to a reduction of almost 100,000 cars from our roads. As car club cars are generally newer and offer more electric and hybrid options, they also give off around 25 percent less CO2 emissions than an average private vehicle in the UK.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK said, “The 2020 CoMoUK research shows that this set of interlocking virtuous circles – lowered emissions, decreased cars on the roads and more affordable and sustainable access to electric vehicles than purchase or lease - are what the future of transport emissions in Britain will need to look like if our national legal limit of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, plus our forthcoming legal target of a 78% emissions cut from 1990 levels by 2035, are going to be met.”

For more information and to sign up visit https://www.co-wheels.org.uk