New £5,000 grant towards electric cars
Thursday 16th April 2009, 10:49AM BST.
The government is proposing grants of up to £5,000 for motorists towards a new green car in a bid to harness the “untapped” potential of electric cars.
Under the scheme, motorists will be offered between £2,000 and £5,000 towards the cost of a new green car, currently sold at up to £12,000, to help bolster the eco-friendly vehicle industry over the next five years.
It comes as part of Gordon Brown’s electric dream for the UK, unveiled last week, which included plans to develop green cities throughout the UK and to provide £20 million for charging points and related infrastructure.
There is also an expected announcement by the chancellor in the Budget next week for a £2,000 ‘scrappage’ incentive to encourage motorists to swap their old, polluting cars for new, greener models.
Transport secretary Geoff Hoon said: “Cutting road transport CO2 emissions is a key element to tackling climate change.
“Less than 0.1 per cent of the UK’s 26 million cars are electric, so there is a huge untapped potential to reduce emissions.”
But last week, green campaigners pointed out that increasing the number of electric car users will not cut carbon emissions without creating more renewable power stations to create the electricity needed to charge the cars.
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