Sunderland is trialling four smart fortwo electric drive vehicles in a bid to gain a greater understanding of the benefits the cars can have in helping the location become a low-carbon city.

The Sunderland Echo reports that the city council has taken delivery of the trial vehicles, which are smart fortwo cars that have seen their engines replaced with electric motors.

Council staff, alongside other public sector and private sector organisations, will be given the chance to test the vehicles, which have a top speed of 60 miles per hour and can run for 75 miles before needing to be recharged.

City council leader Paul Watson told the publication: "We must make sure electric vehicles are used more widely – by the council, city employers and residents.

"These electric cars being trialled by the council and city partners will give us first-hand experience of what electric vehicles can do, helping us plan how to use them more widely in our operations."

All users will be able to recharge their vehicles through a number of charging points being installed across public car parks in the city.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, Daimler CEO and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, recently stated that Mercedes-Benz and smart were at the forefront of developments in producing vehicles able to run on electric power and demonstrating the impact the cars can make to sustainable mobility.

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