Electric Car Incentives for British Motorists

The British government has unveiled plans to provide motorists with incentives of up to £5,000 if they buy a new electric car.  The measure – proposed to come into effect in two years time – would make electric cars “a real option for motorists”, according to Geoff Hoon, Transport Secretary.

The timing of the initiative would tie-in with an anticipated mass influx of renewable energy technology vehicles to the UK consumer market, with both electric and hybrid cars expected to become available within months.

UK Vehicle Emissions

In his announcement, Mr Hoon highlighted the link between UK vehicle emissions and global warming.

“Cutting road transport CO2 emissions is a key element to tackling climate change”, he said.

“Less than 0.1% of the UK's 26 million cars are electric, so there is a huge untapped potential to reduce emissions. The scale of incentives we're announcing today will mean that an electric car is a real option for motorists as well as helping to make the UK a world leader in low-carbon transport.”

£5,000 will be the maximum amount given, on a scale that begins at £2,000. 

Post-announcement, the next stage in delivering the initiative involves talks between the Department for Transport, financial organisations and the motor industry at large, focusing on just how it can be achieved.

Electric Cars in the UK

A linked part of the plan involves significantly expanding the infrastructure necessary to support electric cars in the UK, with £20 million to be invested in car battery charging stations and other facilities.

Several electric vehicles are available to buy, right now.  However, their sales have been hampered by a number of limitations, including endurance (the average distance they can travel on one charge being about 40 miles) and capacity (most having two seats).

The driving thrust behind the plan, Mr Hoon explained, was to nurture “...the idea that electric vehicles will become part of everyday life, that people will take them for granted and they will look and feel the same as any other car.”

Among the responses given to the announcement was that of Friends of the Earth, in which it urged for more to be done in terms of public transport too.

“Electric cars are only as green as the electricity they run on - ministers must do far more to boost the UK's flagging renewable energy industry”, Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth’s campaigner for transport, asserted.

“Low carbon vehicles are certainly part of the future, but more extensive measures are needed to make the necessary cuts in transport emissions. Far more must be done to get people out of their cars by making public transport, cycling and walking more attractive options.”

Earlier this month, the Mayor of London announced plans to make London Europe’s top city for electric cars, and called on the British government to part-fund a £60 million scheme and demonstrate its support for the development of environmentally friendly technologies in the UK.