Hook Norton Low Carbon has been running a car club in the village of Hook Norton since 2011. The club was set up to give people an alternative to running a second car or even owning a car at all. More people are becoming less interested in car ownership and therefore cost-effective and easy-to-use alternatives are something that is required for the future.
Being a low carbon group we’ve always run green cars. Our original fleet of biodiesels were still loyally serving our members until very recently. The original fleet was later joined with two Renault Zoe’s and now from March 2021 we’re pleased to say that Hooky Car Club will be running a full-plugin fleet. Our two Renault Zoe’s will be joined by our Generation 1 Nissan Leaf with a 30kwh battery. The fleet will also be joined by our Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which is capable of 20 miles electric range before reverting to mild or ‘self charging’ hybrid mode.
We’re obviously very proud of our new fleet. Our plug-in vehicles will contribute to less tailpipe emissions through the village. We also feel our improved fleet gives a good feasible alternative to car ownership. The average age of our cars is around 2016, meaning you get to drive around in a quiet, modern and refined vehicle for a fraction of the cost of owning a car.
We have also simplified our pricing structure. All of our EV’s will be charged out at a flat rate of 28p a mile and 60p an hour. This means you could be driving around in a Nissan Leaf for around £11 a day! The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is charged out at 44p a mile and 60p an hour. The price difference is to encourage the use of our EV cars.
Both the white Zoe and the Leaf are capable of a decent range. They can both be driven on the motorway and can be easily charged using the Ecotricity charging network. As we start to consider going back to some form of normality, you might be looking at that car on your driveway. You may be wondering how much it’s cost to sit there all this time and how much you will use it in the ‘new normal’.
Maybe it’s time to re-think? If you live in Hook Norton, maybe it’s time to re-visit the Hooky Car Club. If you are based in another community that you think would benefit from something similar, we highly recommend starting a car club.