The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) has announced James McGeachie as its new technical and programme director.
Joining LowCVP from Prodrive, he will lead on the delivery of the LowCVP’s annual work programme, as well as taking technical responsibility for the its projects and outputs.
His appointment comes at a critical time for the low emissions agenda in road transport following the Government’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon by 2050 and the announcement that a detailed Transport Decarbonisation Plan will be published in autumn 2020.
Throughout his career, McGeachie has been directly involved in the development of electric and hybrid vehicle technology, from academic case studies whilst at university through to programmes such as the Ford PHEV Transit demonstrator fleet, successfully trialled in London and now on sale to the general public.
As director of engineering at Prodrive, he was responsible for engineering content and delivery within the company’s advanced technology business.
In this role, he worked with a wide range of engineering departments and disciplines including mechanical design, structural analysis, transmissions and drivelines, electrical and electronic design, control system development and vehicle integration.
Prior to joining Prodrive in 2008, McGeachie was an engineering graduate with British Steel before moving to work at Jaguar Land Rover where he spent ten years responsible for the delivery of electrical systems into production vehicle platforms.
In his new role at LowCVP, he will provide a focal point for the work programme, project development and management across all stakeholders.
He is a chartered engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the automotive and related industries. In addition to a first-class BEng degree in electrical and electronic engineering, he holds an MSc in engineering and manufacturing management.
LowCVP MD, Andy Eastlake, said: “I’m delighted that James has joined the LowCVP secretariat team. His experience and knowledge of the sector should help him to hit the ground running and will help to bring focus and extra technical rigour to the partnership’s activities and outputs at a critical time for this agenda.
“Increasing our links and contacts in the automotive and wider industries such as motorsport and aerospace highlights how diverse this agenda is and emphasises how the LowCVP’s collaborative approach is needed on the Road to Zero.
“Reading that James had been likened to the young ‘Q’ from James Bond in a German magazine certainly gave his application a bit of extra oomph. And, already, in true engineering style he has re-purposed an old mobile phone as a webcam to enable him to join the virtual team meetings while in the current lockdown.”
McGeachie said: “It’s great to be joining the LowCVP at such an important time in the history of road transport.
"Achieving the goals laid out for 2050 represents a significant challenge and will undoubtedly require technical innovation, sector expertise and a great deal of focused effort.
“Spanning both industry and government, LowCVP is at the heart of these efforts and I‘m excited to be joining such a skilled and capable team as they drive towards a zero carbon future.”
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
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