Government announces scheme to encourage ultra-low carbon vehicles
A new incentive scheme was announced by the Government today, which will offer a discount of up to £5,000 on the purchase of ultra-low carbon cars. A £30 million infrastructure of recharging facilities for electric vehicles will also be rolled-out across selected regions of the UK as part of its strategy for reducing carbon emissions.
The Plug-in Car Grant will be available from January 2011 to assist both private and business buyers to purchase cars with ultra-low tailpipe emissions. It provides the purchaser with 25% towards the value of the car, up to a maximum of £5,000, available at the point of purchase. The Government expects that a range of eligible vehicles will be available in time for the start of the scheme, but vehicles will have to pass strict performance and safety criteria as well as emitting ultra-low amounts of carbon.
The supporting infrastructure required for recharging the electric vehicles is also planned to be rolled out only in London, Milton Keynes and the North East to begin with, after these regions won the first round of bidding to be included in the scheme. This will see the installation of “Plugged-in Places”, charging infrastructure that will be located in car parks, supermarkets, shopping centres and on streets. Just over 11,000 of the recharging points will be installed in the next three years.
Further regions of the UK will be included in the scheme after further funding is allocated later in the year, with West Midlands, Cornwall, Sheffield, the Lake District, Greater Manchester and Northern Ireland expected to bid for the installation of Plugged-in Places.
The Department of Transport expressed its aim to create a flourishing early market for ultra-low carbon vehicles, to create new business opportunities for UK-based companies and to help it make fuel savings in the transport sector.
Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis commented:
“Decarbonising transport isn’t an aspiration – it’s a reality. By this time next year, cutting edge motorists will be on the roads with these next generation cars they’ve purchased because of our help.
“And thanks to the Plugged-in Places we will have in place infrastructure to support this growing early market.”
