Electric Car Experience to join centre:MK under £9M government funding

Joint owners AustralianSuper and Hermes Investment Management, the £30.6 billion manager committed to delivering holistic returns – outcomes for its clients that go far beyond the financial, has announced that centre:mk will debut Milton Keynes Council’s Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC).

The EVEC launch comes as part of the wider Milton Keynes Go Ultra Low Cities Programme, in which £9 million was awarded to the city in January 2016 to encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles and hit the target of 23 per cent of all car sales being electric or plug-in by 2020.  Milton Keynes is one of only four lead UK cities and authorities to win part of a £40million government fund in the Go Ultra Low Cities programme and highlight the city as one of the most sustainable in Europe.

The EVEC will be the first of its kind to launch in the UK and will be managed by Chargemaster, the UK’s biggest name in electric vehicle charging.  Situated at 26 and 28 Crown Walk and covering 3,870 sq ft, the centre will display new electric vehicle technology from a range of car manufacturers including Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault– regularly rotating between makes and models as exciting new models enter the market. centre:mk will showcase the vehicles, offer demos and provide highly trained independent professionals to answer customer questions and refer interested visitors to a relevant local dealership or partner leasing company.

Ed Sellick, on behalf of Centre:mk joint owners, Hermes Investment Management and AustralianSuper, commented: “We are excited to be supporting this initiative from Milton Keynes Council that demonstrates an innovative and committed approach to improving the future for the region.  Showcasing the latest low emissions vehicles to the millions of visitors further enhances the centre:mk’s importance as one of the top 10 prime retail and leisure destinations within the UK.”

Visitors to centre:mk will be able to experience the modern and technologically advanced space, designed by motor industry retail specialists TRO, and learn about sustainable motoring for private and business use.  As an added bonus, Milton Keynes residents and businesses will also be able to test-drive a range of vehicles as well as lease low-emission vehicles on a longer term with the help of heavily subsidised rates from the EVEC.

Brian Matthews from Milton Keynes Council added: “This one-of-a-kind showroom will prove to be a high-profile resource, enabling visitors of Centre:mk to experience the initiative in a high-quality environment. Their support throughout our low emissions initiative will no doubt attract visitors and add real value to the centre.  We look forward to presenting the technology at such a distinctive retail and leisure destination, and believe that this partnership will have a truly positive impact on Milton Keynes.”

David Martell, Chargemaster CEO, said: “Being part of such a high-profile and diverse project is very exciting for Chargemaster. The EV Experience Centre in MK will be the first of its kind and we are sure it will pave the way for other cities to follow in its footsteps. We are greatly looking forward to welcoming MK residents to the EVEC and to showing them everything that going green has to offer.”

This news follows the recent completion of the Sunset Walks £10 million refurbishment and investment, in addition to significant brand enhancements over the past 18 months including Kiehls, T2, Molton Brown and ASK.

MMX Retail and CBRE acted for centre:mk. Chargemaster represented Electric Car Experience Centre.