Electric car subsidy is parked

It seems likely that the £5,000 grant for electric vehicles pledged by the last government has been shelved after business secretary, Vince Cable, failed to confirm in the recent emergency budget that it will go ahead in January 2011.

“We’ve moved on from the era of subsidies”

Citroën, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot and Renault – all manufacturers with electric cars close to production – have written to the government to say that “without the incentives, the UK will become a significantly less attractive market”. But during a speech to the Society of Motor Manufacturers
and Traders, Vince Cable said: “We’ve moved on from the era of subsidies. I do not see a future for large-scale support of companies. We have to be realistic about what is affordable. We cannot fight and win a subsidy war.”

Electric cars “too expensive”

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Electric cars offer environmental benefits, but even with a £5,000 grant they remain too expensive for the vast majority of drivers.”

£230m had been pledged for the Plug-in Grant. Eligible cars were to have received a grant of 25% off their retail price up to a maximum of £5,000. Given that most, if not all, the electric cars eligible for the grant cost over £20,000 it had been expected that most people would have enjoyed a discount of £5,000.

Choice of electric cars is tiny

British motorists are promised mass-produced electric cars within a year, but family drivers consulting the newly-launched Electric Car Buyers’ Guide in the hope of finding an environmentally-friendly electric vehicle to drive away today face a choice of only three.