A NUMBER of businesses on Love Lane business park in Cirencester took up an offer to test drive an electric van and car thanks to Horizon Telecom and the Fish Brothers group.

Representatives from Fish Brothers’ Nissan dealership in Swindon brought an e-NV200 and a LEAF to the telecom company’s Cirencester offices last Thursday, to take employees out for a spin.

Michael Gray, managing director of Horizon, said: “Our engineers install telephone systems and data, working locally and nationally, and we’re due to change our vehicles.

“And I thought, due to what’s going on in the news at the moment, there’s an interest with everyone going electric.”

Having test driven the NV200 – which he described as “like an i-Pod on wheels” – Michael decided to arrange for the dealership to come down to Love Lane for the day and do a demonstration.

“Not to waste their time, I decided I’d invite all of our neighbouring companies within the site to have a go too, and quite a few took me up on the offer.”

He said, with the new model electric vehicles able to do about 200 miles on a single charge and with incentives from the government “including £6,000 towards the cost of each vehicle” he would at least see whether his staff took to the change.

“The idea, first of all, is to get one, try it out and then I’m going to give it to different staff and see if it works for them,” said Michael.

“If it doesn’t then you don’t have to have it but if it does let’s think about getting ones for those who do.”

Horizon was founded in 1988.