Government announces extension to plug-in car grant
Fri 18 December 2015
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The Government has announced changes to grant levels and a long-term extension to the plug-in car grant, backed by a £400 million package to treble the number of ultra low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. The grant will continue until at least the end of March 2018 and 100,000 people are expected to benefit.
From March 2016, buyers of vehicles with a zero-emission range of more than 70 miles, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, will get the full £4,500 grant (reduced from £5,000), but hybrids with a shorter electric range and costing less than £60,000 will receive £2,500.
Jim Wright, Nissan GB Managing Director, said: “Today’s decision by the Government has reaffirmed their commitment to the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles. With government support and Nissan’s investment of over £420 million into electric vehicles in the UK, our British made Nissan LEAF has increased in popularity with many UK customers already enjoying the benefits of zero emission and low cost driving.
"This announcement, together with ongoing infrastructure developments, should see the growth and wider deployment of this technology continue.”
The plug-in car grant was created in 2011 to encourage sales of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) and has been instrumental in the UK becoming the biggest ULEV market in the EU, and the fourth largest in the world. About 50,000 people have already benefited from the grant.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and the plug-in car grant has been key to that success.
"We are determined to keep Britain at the forefront of the technology, increasing our support for plug-in vehicles to £600 million over the next 5 years to cut emissions, create jobs and support our cutting-edge industries.”
The Government has also announced that it will continue to provide a grant to help ULEV owners have a dedicated chargepoint installed at their home. From 1 March 2016, the electric vehicle homecharge scheme (EVHS) will offer £500 per installation, which on average will cover around half of the cost of getting a charge point.
The plug-in car grant is just one element of a comprehensive £600 million package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) which will be spent over the course of this Parliament. The investment also includes funding for chargepoints, grants encouraging low emission buses and taxis and R&D funding for innovative technology such as lighter vehicles and longer-lasting car batteries.
The Government has committed to make nearly all cars and vans in the UK zero emission by 2050. This commitment was reinforced when the UK was one of 14 international members of the Zero Emission Vehicle Alliance to sign a pledge promoting the uptake of electric cars at the recent Paris climate conference.
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