Government announces £5,000 grants towards electric cars and first 'Plugged-in Places'
Thu 25 February 2010
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The Department for Transport has confirmed details of the financial incentives that will be made available to buyers of electric cars from January 2011. The subsidy will be worth 25% of a car's recommended retail price up to a value of £5,000. The first 'Plugged-In Places' - London, Milton Keynes and the North East - have been announced and 11,000 vehicle recharging points to be installed in the three centres during the next three years.
A number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle models are expected to be available in the UK by 2011 and to be eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant. The Grant will be distributed directly to consumers at the point of purchase and will be managed in a similar way to the grant made as part of the Government's 'scrappage' scheme. Cars will be discounted at the point of purchase and the subsidy claimed by the manufacturer to provide a straightforward process for the consumer. The Government is seeking state aid approval from, the European Commission to operate the subsidy.
The Government has also announced plans to roll-out the first tranche of a £30m fund for a network of electric vehicle hubs – called Plugged-In Places – which will see electric vehicle charging infrastructure appearing in car parks, major supermarkets, leisure and retail centres, as well as on the street. A second competition for Plugged-in Places funding is to follow later in the year, with consortia from the West Midlands, Cornwall, Sheffield, the Lake District, Greater Manchester and Northern Ireland planning to bid for funding.
The initiatives are part of a £450 million Government strategy to support the creation of a flourishing early market for ultra-low carbon vehicles.
The Government says that the programme will help to meet the UK’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions from transport; as well as creating new business opportunities for UK-based companies in the automotive and charging infrastructure sectors.
The Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said: "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.
"Transport has a huge part to play in helping the UK meet its stringent emission reduction targets and today's announcement is another step on the road to putting the UK at the global forefront of ultra-low carbon vehicle development, manufacture and use.”
These measures will be delivered by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) working closely with partners including the Energy Technologies Institute and the Technology Strategy Board. OLEV will be assessing the feasibility of charging along strategic corridors with the Highways Agency and motorway service area operators; and of charging infrastructure at railway station parking facilities with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Network Rail.
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