A Transpennine route from Lancashire to Yorkshire will establish electric and hybrid vehicles' towing performance in real-world conditions.

The Little Green Tour created by The Caravan and Motorhome Club is supporting Mark Sutcliffe, who is a motoring journalist and electric vehicle enthusiast, on a roadtrip across the Pennines which will establish the towing credentials of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in real world driving conditions.

Two cars and caravans, towed by electric vehicles, will head from Lancashire to Yorkshire to evaluate the practicalities of towing with EVs.

The drivers are regular Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year judges Mark Sutcliffe and Andrew Ditton, who will be driving a Tesla Model 3 and Volvo XC40 Recharge plug-in hybrid T5 FWD respectively.

Mark will tow a lightweight Bailey Discovery D4-2 behind his Tesla, accompanied by navigator and data analyst Freddie Sutcliffe.

Andrew will tow a Bailey Phoenix 440+ behind the Volvo, accompanied by his Jack Russell terrier, Dougal.

The roadtrip will begin on Monday 16 August, starting from the Club's Burrs Country Park campsite in Bury.

It will then cover 135 miles across three days, stopping off at the Beechwood Grange campsite in York before heading out to the coast and the brand new Club resort at Cayton Village near Scarborough.

The caravanners and technical experts will gather data and measure the impact on the electric vehicles range while towing, and will calculate the logistics of recharging, both whilst on the road and at campsites.

All Caravan and Motorhome Club pitches are supplied with a 13-amp power supply, making it easy for people to top up electric vehicle batteries whilst on site.

Cayton Village also additional fast chargers allowing guests to recharge their EVs more quickly.

Caravan and Motorhome Club Director General, Nick Lomas, said: “We have been receiving an increasing number of enquiries about the technicalities and practicalities of towing with hybrid and electric vehicles.

"Plug-in hybrids are already proving themselves as an excellent alternative to diesel – which has been the preferred powertrain for caravanners for the last two decades.

“Pure battery towcars remain something of a novelty among caravanners, but with the Government signalling an end to the sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2030, it’s clear we will need to understand how to adapt to this new technology over the next few years.

“In September, the Club will reveal the findings of this evaluation exercise along with results of its annual Caravan and Motorhome Club Towcar of the Year competition – which this year attracted a record entry of alternatively fuelled vehicles.”