Oxfordshire pilot shows rural EV car clubs can beat the odds

In April 2023, Oxfordshire County Council and partners launched a ground-breaking, multi-operator pilot of 10 electric car clubs based at charging hubs in market towns and villages across the county

In April 2023, Oxfordshire County Council and partners launched a ground-breaking, multi-operator pilot of 10 electric car clubs based at charging hubs in market towns and villages across the county, including Abingdon, Eynsham, Henley, and Wallingford.

A year later, despite doubts about the viability of car clubs in rural areas, car club operators Co Wheels and local start-up, Zimbl believe that a number of shared EVs may continue to operate in the various towns and villages indefinitely – and there has been discussion about expansion.

As Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “I’m extremely pleased to see the positive response to EV car clubs in many of the towns and villages involved in the pilot.

In more rural areas, it's difficult to avoid being dependent on a car, but car clubs really could replace the second car for many families, saving money, hassle, and reducing the number of cars that need to be built. If you haven’t tried them out, now’s your chance.”

Almost 1,000 new car club members / users have tried out a shared EV, registering more than 3,000 individual hiring sessions in shared EVs outside Oxford City.

165,000 electric miles

With those sessions clocking up over 165,000 electric miles over the course of the year, Dr Hannah Budnitz, a researcher at the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, estimates that the shared EVs have saved 36 tons of CO2eq (almost 8 Olympic sized swimming pools) compared to if those miles were driven in the average petrol car.

Analysis also shows that even in their first year, the shared EVs are spending an average of 12% of their time in motion – compared to 4% for the average private vehicle. More efficient and intensive use of EVs means fewer EVs are needed for people to get around, which at 100 kg CO2eq per kWh of battery capacity manufactured, means even more emissions savings! 

As Jenny Figueiredo, Oxfordshire County Council’s EV Charging Project Manager who negotiated the pilot explained: “Providing pay per use car sharing schemes offers people a chance to try an EV, perhaps for the first time, and to have access to a zero emissions car they might otherwise not be able to afford. It is possible for people to consider giving up their own cars or second cars, and to make a more conscious decision about every journey they make.”

Indeed, some users report that they have been able to reduce their household car ownership as a result. Car club member Lisa Hynes said that having a shared EV “right in the centre of Eynsham has meant that we haven’t needed to buy an additional car as we can use the Co Wheels’ car as and when we need it. We have really enjoyed driving an electric car too.” Zimbl reported that five of their customers say they use the shared EV service in place of owning even one private car.

The pilot has also shown that charge point and car club operation – and viability – can be complementary.

Charge point operator, EZ-Charge, installed twenty public charging hubs in district council car parks in 2021-2022, and most still have spare capacity. Analysis of their monitoring data showed that over 10% of the energy sold in the past year at some of the hubs went to the car club EVs. The charging pattern also differed from their private customers – even without active management.

The business potential of shared EVs

Data like this shows (top left image) the business potential of shared EVs, although the car clubs in some locations in the pilot were withdrawn due to a lack of demand – even where there had been a high level of interest.

Qualitative feedback suggests that this may be down to a lack of local awareness and promotion or a lack of confidence in EV technology and use among potential customers. However, the data from the pilot also suggests that such barriers might be overcome. 

The County Council promoted the pilot from its launch in April through to a large, public facing event, ‘EVs are for Everyone’ in May 2023. Minimal publicity followed, but then there was a comms push in February 2024, after it was agreed that the pilot would be extended for at least another summer. Perhaps this explains the spike in hires in March, normally a quieter month for car clubs?

Also, although concerns about range and charging anxiety might prevent some drivers from trying the shared EVs in the first place, the data suggests that the pilot EVs in the rural car clubs (and in the established car club in the village of Hook Norton) showed similar mileage stats to conventional car club vehicles – and racked up more miles than the average for EVs in Oxford City’s pre-existing Co Wheels car clubs.

In summary, cars and vans are responsible for 30-50% of CO2 emissions in rural districts of the UK and public transport in such places is often limited. Yet there have been doubts about whether rural residents will be interested and whether car clubs are viable to operate outside cities. The Oxfordshire pilot shows that the answer is a definite yes!   

Is this result unique to Oxfordshire, with its particular socio-demographics or EV enthusiasm? An event was held at Oxford University in May 2024 to celebrate the success of the pilot, and those in attendance, including from other English counties, highlighted the need for further funding, awareness and research into the potential to meaningfully scale EV sharing in the countryside.

So to end with a call to action – if you have evidence from or plans for an electric car club in your market town or village, please get in touch with hannah.budnitz@ouce.ox.ac.uk. Together, we can work towards a future where sharing EVs is a low-cost, low-carbon transport option for rural residents across the UK.

Hannah is a post-doctoral researcher, whose work at the TSU focuses on the transition to electric mobility in the UK from the social, behavioural and policy perspectives