London's Finest Get A Boost From the smart Electric

London's Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom have been one of the groups testing smart electric drive cars as part of a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) trial being run by Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz). The Islington Council along with other businesses in the city have been working together on this effort.

Tom Morrison-Jones from Mercedes-Benz is responsible for the smart electric car development program in London and together with Chris Rutherford from London's Islington Council, they have been testing the zero emissions smart cars in the city.

Islington Council has also been working with electricity companies to develop electric charging meter posts in specially designated areas for electric vehicles. In fact, as part of London's Congestion Charge initiative, which has put London on the map as a 'green' international city, Islington Council has installed special parking/charging locations that are only for electric vehicle permit holders.

The smart electric car has a range of 115 km (72 miles) and has a top speed of 112 km/h (70 mph), which is ideal for city driving. The zero to 60 km/h (38 mph) acceleration time is quite quick at 5.8 seconds. It has a 30 kW (41 bhp) electric motor and Daimler has announced that they expect to selling the smart electric drive car in 2010.