A government scheme to give motorists money off when purchasing electric cars has been cut by 80 per cent. Despite recent warnings from independent climate change groups that Britain must increase the amount of electric cars drastically if it wants to meet EU emission targets, the fate of low-carbon charging points hangs in the balance. Environmental groups, politicians and electric car-makers argue that cutting the incentive will reduce the amount of green jobs and harm the cars’ take up.
Transport secretary Phillip Hammond said the coalition government is committed to making energy supply secure, tackling climate change and creating low-carbon growth. He added that the electric car grants will go ahead in January 2011 to ensure the government is a world leader in low-emission vehicles.
However, the original £230m scheme announced in March this year by the former Labour government has been scaled down to just £43m, to be reviewed in January 2011. Shadow transport secretary Sadiq Khan has pointed out that there were no previous plans to review the scheme annually.
The first batch of money could help fund up to 8,600 electric cars if buyers take advantage of the £5,000 discount. The Department for Transport (DfT) has denied that the level of spending for the first year will be less than that planned by Labour.
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