£400 million fund to treble number of greener vehicles

The government has announced 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 (ULEV) on Britain’s roads.

From 1 March 2016, two grant rates will be available to ensure the funding is sustainable and focus financial support on the greenest vehicles. ‘Category 1’ vehicles with a zero emission range of over 70 miles will benefit from a grant of £4,500. ‘Category 2 and 3’ vehicles with a shorter zero emission range – such as plug-in hybrid vehicles with a petrol or diesel engine – will receive £2,500.

The government will also continue to provide a grant to help ULEV owners have a dedicated charge point 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 the overall cost.

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. Extending the grant in a sustainable way ensures more than 100,000 people will benefit from financial support when purchasing these cheap-to-run and green cars. 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 five years to cut emissions, create jobs and support our cutting-edge industries.”

The government has committed to make nearly all cars and vans in the UK zero emission by 2050, and announced in the Spending Review to increase funding to £600 million between 2015 and 2020 to support the development, manufacture and uptake of ULEVs.

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.