Government to support adoption of greener taxis, vans, motorcycles and HGVs
Fri 27 March 2015
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A £45m fund to encourage the introduction of greener taxis, extension of the Plug-in Van incentive scheme, support for electric motorcycles as well as support for gas refuelling points for HGVs, were among a flurry of announcements made before the dissolution of Parliament for the General Election. The announcements are made as news comes in of booming global EV passenger car sales.
£20 million will be made available to local authorities to support the rollout of ultra-low emission taxis across the UK. The money will be available to reduce the upfront cost of purpose-built taxis and to install charging infrastructure for taxi and private hire use.
A further £25 million has been set aside specifically for the Greater London Area to help taxi drivers cover the cost of upgrading to a greener vehicle.
All taxis will also qualify for the government’s Plug-in Car Grant, which currently offers up to £5,000 off the cost of an eligible low emission vehicle.
Local authorities have been invited to bid for feasibility studies to prepare for the rollout of these vehicles in their fleets.
The news follows Geely’s announcement of plans for a new £250 million state-of-the-art facility to produce the next generation of low emission London black cabs in Coventry. The BBC reports that the new facility will create a thousand jobs.
The new taxis will comply with the new regulations being introduced by the Mayor of London that will require all London taxis to be zero-emission capable from January 2018.
Business Minister Matthew Hancock said: "This is a historic moment for the automotive sector and goes to show that it is thriving in Britain today.
"Low emission vehicles are the future and show that we can meet our climate change obligations in a way that enhances technology.
"I’m looking forward to the roll-out of greener taxis across the UK and have no doubt that with the support of Geely this will happen very quickly".
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: "The low emission vehicle sector is going from strength to strength with demand in the UK up by over 300% last year, making the UK a leading market for this technology. Today’s announcement means ultra low emission taxis will be the smart choice for more taxi drivers and everyone will benefit from improved air quality and greener travel."
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "As London strives towards the greenest taxi fleet from 2018, it is essential to support the taxi trade in the transition to cleaner vehicles. With the additional funds announced today, more help is on the way for taxi drivers to upgrade to the latest technology in zero-emission capable cabs."
Baroness Kramer has also announced that the Plug-in Van Grant scheme will be extended 'to meet continued demand." Scheduled to close at the end of March 2015 the scheme is designed to incentivise the uptake of zero emission electric and low emission plug-in hybrid vans by offering a 20 per cent discount (up to £8,000) on the list price. To date it has subsidised the purchase of 1,250 vehicles.
The funding extension for vans was announced alongside an additional £4 million to support the early deployment of publically accessible gas refuelling points for HGVs across the UK. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) will be working with industry to identify areas where demand for infrastructure is highest. LowCVP continue to support the DfT freight team with their gas strategy for Trucks and recently supported a stakeholder workshop on the emission measurement plans for these trucks.
Meanwhile, Edie reports that around 320,000 new electric vehicles were registered around the world in 2014, accounting for 43% of all electric vehicles currently on the road. It also says that buyers are being encouraged by a rise in resale values for electric cars to a lever comparable with their conventional counterparts.
The US is reported to be leading the charge, having added 117,000 electric cars. However, China appears to be catching up with nearly 54,000 new electric vehicles added, an increase of around 120%.
China's fleet is the third largest in the world, just behind Japan which saw a relatively muted 45% growth rate. The global growth rate was 76%.
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