On
25th February 2010 the government announced details of a £230 million
ultra-low carbon car incentive programme.
A grant to reduce the cost of eligible electric, Plug-in hybrid and hydrogen cars by 25% (to a maximum of £5,000) will be available to consumers and business buyers from January 2011 and will run until 2014.
The grant will be available at the point of purchase directly from the dealership or manufacturer, so consumers will not be out of pocket or have to go through a separate application process. It will work in a similar way to the Government scrappage scheme; except that you will not have to scrap your old car.
The Plug-In Car Grant will support eligible vehicles delivered to
customers from January 2011.
The scheme will run until 31 March 2014, or until the available funding
for financial year 2013/14 has been distributed, whichever is earlier.
Eligible cars will receive a grant of 25% off the price up to a
maximum of £5,000. We would expect the majority of cars to receive
the maximum incentive of £5,000.
Consumers will pay for the cost of the car, minus the incentive.
Dealerships will deduct the 25% (up to £5,000) at point of sale –
similar to the way in which the scrappage scheme works. This money will
be reclaimed from Government via the vehicle manufacturers. This
will ensure the consumer is not out of pocket.
Eligibility criteria have now been confirmed for cars to be included in the UK’s Plug-In Car Grant scheme. Manufacturers can now apply for their cars to be included once the scheme starts in January 2011. Only new cars at first registration will be eligible.
An electric car will cost approximately 1-2p mile, petrol and diesel cars cost more than 10 times that. There are also other benefits for these cars like zero vehicle excise duty, London congestion charge exemption and other local and tax benefits.
Electric vehicles and Plug-In hybrid electric vehicles can often be
charged at home or by using charging points on the street, in car-parks,
at supermarkets or at some work places.
Coventry is one of nine cities and towns in the UK to have charging
points for electric and hybrid fuelled vehicles under an £11m
development plan.
There will be 18 rechargeable points in 6 locations in Coventry with more to come in the near future.
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) is behind the development of the plan. It will eventually go national with the aim of creating a compatible network of recharging points. Their scheme is called the Joined-Cities Plan.
A number of trials are already under way across the UK with the largest involving 340 vehicles some of which are totally powered by electricity and others with carbon fuel engines charging on-board batteries.
Most journeys in cities and larger towns are about 40 miles on average and the government believes electric cars are ideal.
ETI chief executive David Clarke said: "Enabling plug-in vehicles to
compete effectively in a market alongside petrol and diesel vehicles
with their extensive infrastructure is a challenge.
"These plug-in vehicles are currently unknown to most consumers, who
will want to know if they will be versatile, will they be affordable and
will they be as easy to refuel/recharge.
"Through the Joined-Cities Plan we will help to enhance the versatility
and ease of recharging.
The vehicle can be registered anywhere in the UK.
An electric vehicle powered from today’s grid mix has up to 40% fewer CO2 emissions than a conventional vehicle. This saving will increase as the UK electricity generation mix decarbonises.
The Plug-In Car Grant consumer incentive scheme is due to end at 31 March 2014, or earlier that financial year if consumer demand is higher than forecast.
Details of the grant may be subject to change as the market evolves in the coming years. There will be a review point after the first 12 months to take into account how the early market is developing, which may result in changes from April 2012.
No, there is no limit to the number of times a business or individual can take advantage of the scheme.
Both commercial and private buyers will be able to buy vehicles under the scheme. Government wants to encourage a range of early adopters to benefit from the scheme and hope to see a variety of business models flourish in the early market.
The new vehicle has to confirmed as eligible for the scheme to receive the discount and be a new vehicle registered for the first time in the UK.
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