Industry News
Electric car prices will be reduced by grants worth thousands
25th Febuary 2010
Drivers who switch to an electric car will receive a government grant of up to £5,000 but may struggle to find somewhere to charge the battery.
The Department for Transport announced that from January it will provide grants worth a maximum of 25 per cent of the price of fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids, which run on electricity for the first few miles before switching to petrol.
London, Milton Keynes and the North East will receive £8 million for the installation of 11,000 charging points by the end of 2013, in car parks at leisure centres, railway stations, supermarkets and elsewhere. However, only 2,000 points will be installed next year and only 79 of those will be fast-charge points where drivers can charge their batteries to 80 per cent of their capacity in only 20 minutes.
Electric-car drivers will also receive incentives such as free electricity and parking until 2013 in Milton Keynes, and exemption from the London congestion charge.
To qualify for grants, cars will need a range of at least 70 miles and a minimum top speed of 60mph, and meet European safety standards. The G-Wiz will not qualify as it is classified as a quadricycle. Mitsubishi, the first company to produce a mass-market electric car, said that the grant would cut the price of its iMiEV to £20,000.
Speaking to The Times, Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, said he wanted Britain to become a global centre for electric cars. Nissan has already received government support to build a factory making lithium-ion car batteries in Sunderland. The company is also considering siting European production of its electric Leaf car in Sunderland.
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