The World Electric Vehicle Association has named Dundee as Europe’s most visionary city for electric vehicles (EVs).

At a ceremony in Kobe, Japan, the association presented Dundee City Council with an ‘E-visionary award’ for its pioneering initiatives to encourage the use of EVs at its annual gathering in Kobe.

Convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee Lynne Short said the council was “truly honoured” to receive the award.

She added: “It’s fantastic that our work to improve transport and air quality for the people of Dundee is also providing inspiration for other cities around the world.”

David Beeton, CEO of Urban Foresight, a Dundee-based business that has helped to make the city an electric vehicle hotspot collected the award.

He said: “It’s great to get global recognition for the leadership and ambition demonstrated in Dundee on electric vehicles. The city is truly buzzing at the moment and hopefully this award will help Scotland to accelerate towards a future free from fossil fuels.”

The Scottish Government hopes to phase out sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032, and Dundee has firmly established itself at the forefront of this mission.

The city’s council has developed the UK’s largest public sector fleet of clean vehicles, with almost 40% of cars and vans being electric. In addition to this, 15% of taxis are now electric and are able to plug-in at the UK’s first solar-powered charging hubs.

Work began on Dundee’s fourth electric vehicle charging hub this week, with more hubs planned at the city’s three main multi-storey car parks. Additional electric and hydrogen buses are expected to be on the road soon, and the city’s Mobility Innovation Living Lab (The MILL) recently launched a series of pilot projects to trial new electric vehicle technologies and services.

The projects are part funded by the Dundee City Council, European Regional Development Fund, Transport Scotland and the UK Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

Alister Hamilton, director of the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland who nominated the city for the award, said: “We are delighted that Dundee has been named as Europe’s most visionary electric vehicle city.

“This is fantastic recognition of Dundee’s commitment to putting in place infrastructure to support EV use and we’re proud to have nominated the city, resulting in such a prestigious title coming to Scotland.

“The award will help cement Scotland’s position in leading the way in the UK and we hope other cities will follow Dundee’s lead in supporting widespread adoption of electric travel.”

The E-Visionary Award is presented by the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) to cities and regions across the globe for initiatives to promote electric vehicles as a sustainable mode of transportation, and for making electric mobility a reality for the citizens of their region.