| Fate | Acquired by Addison Lee |
|---|---|
| Foundation | 2007 |
| Founder | Nicko Williamson |
| Defunct | 2015 |
| Location city | London |
| Location country | UK |
| Location | Battersea, England |
| Area served | Greater London |
| Industry | Transport |
| Services | Minicab |
Climatecars was a London based private hire car service which used solely hybrid and electric cars in its fleet. The company promoted itself as a green alternative to black taxi and minicab companies based in London. In 2015, Climatecars was acquired by car service company Addison Lee.[1]
History
Climatecars was founded in 2007 by Nicko Williamson, a University of Bristol graduate.[2][3] Williamson studied the market and worked for an existing car service before starting his company.
Like other private car services, Climatecars were booked online or over the telephone, usually charged fixed prices, and could not use bus lanes.[4] Drivers were required to pass a less stringent test than taxi drivers.
In 2011, the company raised £200,000 from Clydesdale bank and used the money to expand its fleet of vehicles.[5] That year Williamson was voted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year,[6] received a BusinessGreen Leader Award,[7] and was also awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Fast Growth Business Awards Ceremony.[8]
In 2013, Sam Cropper was appointed CEO of Climatecars.[9][10] At that time the company was operating about 100 vehicles.[11][12] In 2015, Climatecars was acquired by car service company Addison Lee,[13] as a way of expanding its fleet while reducing average emission rates.[14] At the time of its acquisition, Climatecars had 115 vehicles.[1]
Technology and environment
Climatecars used hybrid and fully electric cars to keep emissions to a minimum. Their fleet was made up primarily of the Toyota Prius hybrid[15] plus some fully electric Renault Fluence vehicles.[16] Climatecars emissions from the Prius were 89 g/km and the Fluence were 71g/km (when charged off the UK grid), which was less than the 233 g/km of the latest Black Taxi (LTI TX4) in 2015.[17]
References
- ^ Lee, Addison (2015-05-20). "Addison Lee acquires eco-friendly car service". Addison Lee. Retrieved 2026-04-04.
- ^ Staff Writer. "Nigel Vaz's people worth knowing: the SapientNitro European MD and guest-editor of The Drum reveals top social entrepreneurs to watch". The Drum, 2014 06 26.
- ^ "Nicko Williamson Talks About Launching Climatecars, His London Eco Car Service". The Huffington Post UK. 17 December 2012.
- ^ "Updated: Climatecars drives into Addison Lee boycott row". Business Green, 20 April 2012 Jessica Shankleman
- ^ "Climatecars steers forward with £200,000". Growth Business, 13 April 2011
- ^ "Nicko Williamson wins 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards". London: Angel News. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^ "BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2011: Nicko Williamson electrifies the green taxi market". BusinessGreen, 13 July 2011 Will Nichols
- ^ "Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Climatecars (Nicko Williamson)". London: Growing Business, Crimson Publishing Ltd, Westminster House, Kew Road, Richmond TW9 2ND. 2009-12-20. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^ "How I Work: Sam Cropper, CEO of Climatecars". Lifehacker, 8 Dec 2014
- ^ Donna Ferguson. "What are the highest paid jobs of 2014?". the Guardian.
- ^ Super User. "New CEO Cropper promises rapid growth at Climatecars".
- ^ "TechReview - The latest Future Technology, Education and Environmental News".
- ^ "Addison Lee acquires Young Gun-founded car service Climate Cars". Startups, 21 May 2015. by Henry Williams
- ^ "Addison Lee gets into zero emission gear with Climate Cars acquisition". Business Green, 26 May 2015 Jessica Shankleman.
- ^ "Investigations - Science and Technology - When will we see a green taxi industry? - The Ecologist". The Ecologist. 23 August 2010.
- ^ Mihnea Radu. "First Renault Fluence Z.E. Delivered in UK". autoevolution.
- ^ "Climatecars launches first ever zero-emission minicab" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. EN Kirsty Hewitt