More money for electric vehicles

  Posted by: electrical-poster      23rd November 2017

The Government has committed significant investment to improve the charging infrastructure for next-generation vehicles.

To support the transition to zero emission vehicles, the Government said it will regulate to support the wider roll-out of charging infrastructure and invest £200 million, to be matched by private investment into a new £400 million Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund and commit to electrify 25% of cars in central government department fleets by 2022.

The government will also provide £100 million to guarantee the continuation of the Plug-In Car Grant to 2020 to help consumers with the cost of purchasing a new battery electric vehicle.

Under the deal, car dealerships can get grants to reduce the price for new electric and hybrid vehicles. The grant allows buyers to claim up to £4500 off the price of a new electric car, while van buyers can get as much as £8000.

Also, from April 2018, there will be no benefit in kind charge on electricity that employers provide to charge employees’ electric vehicles.

The government wants to see fully self-driving cars, without a human operator, on UK roads by 2021. The government will therefore make world-leading changes to the regulatory framework, such as setting out how driverless cars can be tested without a human safety operator.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will also launch a new innovation prize to determine how future roadbuilding should adapt to support self-driving cars.