Barely a month goes by where there isn't blame being thrown at motorists for causing pollution problems in our towns and cities. The UK is also likely to miss its next CO2 reduction targets. So why has the government just scrapped the plug-in car grant for the majority of plug-in vehicles sold?
From the middle of next month the current subsidy programme for electrified vehicles will be overhauled completely. No plug-in hybrid on sale will be eligible for a list price discount, previously £2500 (and before 2016 £5000), while even the subsidy for full EVs will be cut by £1000.
The changes come just as electrified vehicles are gaining a foothold in the market, and a small one at that. Up until September this year PHEVs and EVs made up just 2.5% of all new cars sold in Britain. Yet the government claims the plug-in market is now "more established", and grants are not needed to support it.
That just doesn't add up, especially when consumers are supposed to be persuaded (rightly or wrongly) out of diesel cars.
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SamVimes1972
The electrification of cars
The electrification of cars trucks and buses is coming regardless of how much or how little the UK subsidises them. It's going to be driven by the big 3 trade blocks of the US EU and China and by the superior performance of electric motors. Diesel was nowhere until the turbo delivered the mid range performance that made every rep and boy racer want one. A combination of lower running costs (particularly whole life) and better performance will drive the private market.
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