Government commit £500million Budget spending to help YOU buy an electric car
THE Government has allocated around £500million to encourage motorists to buy an electric car and to improve the infrastructure to support motorists who drive them.
GETTY
Yesterday’s Budget brought in a raft of changes for drivers including higher VED car tax for diesel drivers.
Under the revised car tax rules, announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond, diesel motorists will pay one band higher than they currently do - which could cost up to £500 more.
Thankfully for motorists, however, fuel duty was frozen until April 2018 when a decision to alter it may be made.
Among the other changes were a major investment in getting driverless cars on the roads by 2021 and also a greater amount of funding to encourage the uptake of electric cars.
In total the Government has allocated around £500 million in spending to achieve this goal.
Of this, £100 million will be allocated to encourage drivers to switch and buy an EV by guaranteeing the continuation of the Plug-In Car Grant to 2020 to help with the cost of purchasing a new battery electric vehicle.
Currently under the Plug-In Grant, drivers can receive a £4,500 contribution towards a new all-electric car and £2,500 towards a plug-in hybrid.
Related articles
The other £400 million in the Budget will be allocated to a roll-out of charging infrastructure across the UK.
The question is: what does £400m buy us in terms of infrastructure?
Andrew Hooks, COO of carwow, the independent car buying website said: “We welcome plans to invest in building Britain’s electric infrastructure and in subsidising adoption.
“However we know that 18 per cent of car owners are looking to go electric or hybrid in the next two years, yet the U.K. - with just 12,700 charging points - is nowhere near ready to embrace the anticipated demand from 5m extra electric or hybrid cars.”
“The question is: what does £400m buy us in terms of infrastructure? Will it enable the UK to cope with the clear desire of motorists to embrace this change? When will it be realised? Will the resulting charging points deliver the speed busy consumers need?”
Some people have however expressed concern about how this charging infrastructure will be introduced.
Steve Nash, CEO of IMI urges government to focus on those who will work on electric cars as well as the charging infrastructure in Autumn Budget.
“The IMI welcomes today’s announcement, in the Autumn Budget, that £400m is being allocated to build the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This is great news and puts the UK on a strong path for the wider adoption of this motoring technology.
"However, at the IMI, we hope that a proportion of this funding will be allocated to the training of the technicians who will work on these vehicles.
“The IMI has submitted evidence for Parliament’s consideration regarding a Licence to Practise for vehicle technicians working on the high-voltage systems of electric and hybrid vehicles. And the Secretary of State for Transport has indicated his interest in the skills opportunities presented by the new automotive technologies.
“In line with our proposals for regulation of those working on the high voltage systems of electric and hybrid vehicles, we have calculated that a relatively small investment of £30m could help accelerate the uptake of new skills, particularly across the independent service & repair sector.
“Currently only 1% of all technicians have been trained to work safely on the high-voltage technology, of which almost all of them work exclusively for manufacturers’ franchised dealers. We believe that the UK will fail to keep up with the global competition for the adoption of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) if more technicians aren’t given the training required to service these high powered vehicles.
"Plus, there is an additional financial burden on those who want to drive electric vehicles - the current scarcity of appropriately trained individuals has already contributed to insurance premiums for EV’s being up to 50% higher than for comparable petrol of diesel cars.
“We must ensure the UK has the skills base to support motorists making an easy transition from petrol and diesel to electric and hybrid. Financial support to help those working in the service & repair sector, most particularly the independent operators, is crucial.”
The government also wants to see fully self-driving cars, without a human operator, on UK roads by 2021.
This will require major changes to the regulatory framework such as setting out how autonomous vehicles can be tested without human safety operators.
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will also launch a new innovation prize to determine how future roadbuilding should adapt to support self-driving cars.
RAC head of external affairs Peter Williams said:“Driverless cars are coming – there is no doubt about that, but more than a third of drivers we spoke to (39%) told us that they would rather see the Government invest in improving the UK’s existing road network. After all, a new generation of driverless cars will still depend on the roads we have today – which, in the case of local roads in particular, are plagued with potholes.”
Chris Green, CRO at Regit, commented on the driverless car announcement saying: “Philip Hammond has been put under pressure to deliver a bold statement that driverless cars will be on Britain’s roads in just four years – and that goal just isn’t achievable considering the infrastructure that needs to be put in place to make this happen.
