DfT says it wants to focus funding on expanding the public electric chargepoint network
The UK government is ending the last remaining subsidies for electric cars, arguing it will free up funds to expand the charging network and support other battery-powered vehicles.
In a controversial move, the government has closed the £300m plug-in car grant scheme to new orders on Tuesday, the Department for Transport said.
The main industry body said the move will leave the UK as the only big European country without any incentives for electric cars. Carmakers said the decision was not a surprise but “hugely disappointing”.
The government said the grants had created a mature market for ultra-low emission vehicles, helping to increase the sales of fully electric cars from fewer than 1,000 in 2011 to almost 100,000 in the first five months of 2022 alone.
The UK’s electric vehicle drive has put the energy sector on the road to change
Battery-powered and hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) now make up more than half of all new cars sold and fully electric car sales have risen by 70% in the past year, and represent one in six new cars joining UK roads.
The DfT said it wanted to focus funding on expanding the public electric chargepoint network, and £300m in grant funding will be directed towards extending plug-in grants to encourage sales of electric taxis, vans, trucks, motorcycles and wheelchair accessible vehicles, as announced in last year’s autumn statement.
Read more: TheGuardian
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