Liverpool City Council has taken delivery of 17 hybrid cars, as part of the local authority’s commitment to reducing emissions.

The Hyundai Ioniq’s replace a mixture of diesel and petrol cars and vans and will be used by highways inspectors and parking services.

Each is equipped with a petrol/electric power, meaning reduced emissions and CO2 while returning 78mpg.

It forms part of a comprehensive drive to reduce air pollution which also includes:

• Reducing traffic congestion in key areas through the City Centre Connectivity Scheme
• Improving roads and walkways to encourage people to walk and cycle more
• Working with the taxi trade to reduce emissions by phasing out dirtier engines
• Working with Merseytravel to put electric and hybrid buses on the most congested routes

Councillor James Noakes, Cabinet member for highways, transport and streetscene, said: “Liverpool’s a growing city and, as with other cities, we have high levels of traffic and it causes 70 percent of the pollution in the city.

“We know we have to lead by example, for example by changing our fleet of vehicles to be greener.

“We want Liverpool to have the cleanest air because we want people to live longer and poor air quality is impacting on the quality of life for residents.”

The cars have been obtained from the Government’s Crown Commercial Service car lease framework on a 3-year contract hire basis.