Nissan, who recently unveiled a £1 billion EV36Zero electric vehicle (EV) hub in the UK to accelerate its journey to carbon neutrality, will be the official automotive supplier for the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon. They will provide a fleet of 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) for the event taking place on Sunday 3 October.
The vehicles used will be Nissan’s two electric vehicle models, the Nissan LEAF passenger car and e-NV200 light commercial vehicle (LCV). This is the second year Nissan has supported the event which is now in its 41st year. In 2020, its electric e-NV200 van acted as lead vehicle to the elite races which took place on a closed-loop course around St James’s Park.
As well as helping to deliver a more sustainable race event, Nissan’s presence at the Virgin Money London Marathon will have a strong focus on its commitments to diversity and inclusion. Nissan will also be working with charitable organisations supporting disabled and LGBTQ+ runners across the country to enable more people to engage in the sport.
Nissan will not only be supplying the time-keeping vehicles for the event but will be there to cheer on all of the participants on the route from the official Nissan LGBTQ+ Cheerzone. This will be sustainably powered by a Nissan LEAF.
Nic Thomas, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd marketing director, said: “Nissan is proud to be supporting one of the world’s most prestigious running events. By focusing on running, an already inclusive sport, Nissan hopes to champion under-represented communities and bring its vision of zero inequality to life, while supporting the sustainability of the events through zero emission support vehicles.”
The Virgin Money London Marathon is an important event for raising money for the numerous charities involved. Back in 2019, when the event was run as normal with 50,000 competitors, it raised an impressive £66.4 million.
Since 1981, when the first event took place, the London Marathon Charitable Trust has awarded grants totalling over £93 million to more than 1,490 projects in London and across the UK.
Hugh Brasher, Virgin Money London Marathon event director, said; “We are committed to driving positive change in environmental sustainability through our actions and we’re proud to be partnering with Nissan to further reduce our environmental impact and lead the world in mass participation event sustainability.”
In addition to the participants taking on the traditional route, more than 40,000 runners are set to take on the virtual Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 3 October, which will make the event the biggest marathon in the world.
