The Electric Car grant was “quietly” introduced in January this year, giving motorists taking the green option up to £5000 towards their new car purchase.
Norman Baker, the junior transport minister has confirmed that only 534 vehicles were registered under the grant scheme. Furthermore, just 213 of those vehicles have been delivered to customers so far.
This has been seen as a very disappointing uptake, however considering the price and limited choice of qualifying cars – we are not surprised.
Lets hope as more manufacturers fall over themselves to over EV’s we’ll see greater numbers of hard hit motorists taking up the “free cash”. That’s if the Co-Alition doesn’t scrap the scheme as part of it’s massive cost cull.
For more information about the Schame Click UK Electric Car Grant
Perhaps people will take up the grant when it makes EVs cheaper, rather than bringing them into parity with other vehicles of a higher specification. The other enemy of EVs is their paltry range and impracticality. As soon as an EV is offered which can travel 400 miles on a charge, takes five minutes to recharge, and is equipped with leather, climate control, heated seats, cruise control, a decent heater, quality audio and sat-nav (and which allows me to use them as and when I want without sacrificing all my range!) then I’ll be first in the queue. Until then, they’re a luxury for self-satisfied eco-mentalists or Londoners avoiding the Congestion Charge.