Glasgow-based Allied Vehicles Group, the manufacturer and supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), has been awarded a grant worth £1.3 million from Scottish Enterprise to help drive forward a project to adapt sustainable vehicles for wheelchair users.

The £1.3 million goes towards Allied’s research and development (R&D) of a new vehicle conversion process for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), helping to ensure that more disabled people can access and use sustainable cars as Scotland transitions towards net zero.

In addition to developing inclusive engineering solutions for the emerging plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles market, the project will also focus on the development of an electronics package for low-emissions taxis, such as those needed in Glasgow’s low emission zone.

Allied employs around 630 members of staff at its Possilpark site, and the new R&D project is set to create around 35 new jobs as the company enters the sustainable transport markets.

The company — which was established in 1993 — provides wheelchair accessible cars, taxis, minibuses, and people carriers across the UK and continental Europe, using its engineering capabilities to remanufacture vehicles from brands including Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, and Volkswagen.

Speaking on the funding and the R&D project, Peter Facenna, managing director of Allied Vehicles Group, said: “Engineering innovation and development are key to our plans to expand our UK and international business activity, by providing first class accessibility solutions for people with severely impaired mobility.

“The advent of hybrid and electric vehicles is great news for the environment but also poses particular challenges in terms of design and accessibility for disabled customers.

“Support from Scottish Enterprise is vital in helping us take forward research and development work required to address these new challenges. It is also key to furthering our growing exports throughout continental Europe.”

Further, Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray, who visited the Possilpark site on 27 June, commented: “Tackling inequality is a priority for the Scottish Government, and our accessible travel framework commits to ensuring all disabled people can travel with freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity. Our world-leading climate targets also include a commitment to building electric vehicle capacity and infrastructure.

“This latest innovative investment project brings together both aims – to ensure Scotland transitions to net zero, while we build a fair and equal society for everyone.”

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An increasing number of cars are being foregone in favour of more sustainable alternatives, but the need for hybrid and electric cars to be widely inclusive and accessible is key.

In its recent report with the Energy Savings Trust, Motability — a charity with a mission to enhance the lives of disabled people with transportation solutions — found that the requirements of disabled consumers are not sufficiently considered in the production of mass-produced EVs.

Respondents to a corresponding wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) user survey raised their concerns over finding suitable EV models that meet their needs.

Issues such as heavier base vehicles potentially limiting the pool of available small- to medium-sized wheelchair accessible vehicles, and new technologies and autonomous features not considering disabled drivers’ adaptation needs were just two of the issues that the report highlighted.

Further, it pointed out that EV infrastructure needs to be addressed alongside vehicle design to improve overall accessibility. The scarcity of accessible chargepoints and issues with the built environment were referred to as some of the key barriers to disabled people using EVs.

“While we continue to make progress on the accessibility of public chargepoints, it’s clear from this research that further work is needed on vehicle design,” said Barry Le Grys, the chief executive officer of Motability.

“There is a risk that disabled people could lose the vital independence that having access to private transport brings if these issues are not addressed by 2030.”