Dumfries and Galloway Council, one of the first local authorities to take on electric vehicles as part of its fleet, has explained low mileage from its EVs due to range anxiety from staff.

A Freedom of Information request made by BBC Scotland showed the local authority spent £57,600 on four Nissan Leafs since 2011, yet in total the cars covered less than 26,000 miles in that time, with one vehicle built up a mileage of 1471 over three years.
 
The council said that some workers were wary of the Nissan Leaf's 100 mile range when driving to rural areas.
 
A spokesperson for the council told the BBC that the vehicle was allocated to a service department and has since been moved to a general post.
 
The electric vehicles were added to the council's fleet in a drive to "inspire residents and local businesses to consider the benefits they bring". They were part-funded by Transport Scotland as part of wider project to decarbonise road transport by 2050.
 
The most-used car in the fleet, a Vauxhall Insignia diesel, covered 47,893 miles in two years.
 
"The scheme has been relatively successful in introducing electric vehicles to this rural area, although clearly the use levels are considerably lower than for conventional vehicles, which are generally within the range of 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year," a council spokesperson told the BBC. "The EVs tend to be used for shorter journeys around Dumfries rather than for travel to more distant locations."