Government announces criteria for plug-in car grants
Thu 16 September 2010
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The Government has set out the eligibility criteria for the plug-in car grant which it announced would go ahead – at least for a year – last month. Under the scheme motorists will receive a grant of up to £5,000 to purchase electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuelled cars.
In order to be eligible for the grant, cars must meet appropriate safety standards and must have been crash tested. They must also meet minimum range and performance criteria.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “I am determined to make this Government the greenest ever and transport will have a key role to play. But this will not be achieved by forcing people off the road – it’s not the car that’s the problem, it's the carbon.
"While I am convinced that rail will be the future of long distance inter-urban journeys, we can't ignore the fact that 84% of journeys are made by car and there is no realistic prospect of displacing the private car for point to point complex journeys.
"However, we are on the brink of a technological revolution that will transform the way we see motoring in the 21st century allowing the benefits that the private car delivers without destroying the planet in the process."
The Plug-In Car Grant will require compliance with 8 eligibility criteria:
· Vehicle Type: New cars only (‘M1’ category vehicles, this includes pre-registration conversions) i.e. excluding motorcycles, quadricycles and vans.
· Carbon Dioxide tailpipe emissions: Less than 75g/km
· Range: EVs minimum 70 miles, PHEVs minimum electric range 10 miles.
· Minimum top speed: 60mph.
· Warranty: 3 year or 60,000 miles vehicle warranty, plus, a 3 year battery and electric drive train warranty with a consumer option for a 2 year battery warranty extension.
· Battery performance: Either a minimum 5 year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard OR additional evidence of battery performance to illustrate reasonable performance after 3 years of use.
· Electrical Safety: Vehicles must comply with UN- ECE Reg100.00 (PHEVs will be required to show they have met the technical requirements of 01 series amendments to UN- ECE Reg 100); vehicle manufacturers will be required to identify risks associated with vehicle use and state mitigating actions.
· Vehicle crash safety: European Commission whole vehicle type approval (EC WVTA, not small series) OR evidence that the car demonstrates appropriate levels of safety as judged by international standards.
The Coalition Government also recently announced that the Plugged-In-Places recharging infrastructure programme would go ahead with the amount of funding available for it to be announced in the spending review. London, Milton Keynes and the North East were beneficiaries of the first round of the Plugged-In-Places scheme. The Government says that 15 places are interested in bidding for the second round.
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