Buy an ultra-low emissions car and get a £5k discount

25/02/10

Govt  to tempt buyers who choose all-electric cars and other low-CO2 modelsFirst we’ve had the scrappage scheme, where the government ‘paid’ drivers of older, more polluting cars to chop them in for brand new ones. Now comes the ‘plug-in car grant’ which’ll offer a discount of up to £5000 if you put your money into an electric car, a plug-in hybrid or one powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The government has set aside £230m to back the project, which will begin on January 1, 2011. Buyers will receive a 25% discount on any eligible car, up to £5000 maximum.

There will also be another £30m made available to provide kerb-side charging posts. Over 11,000 will be installed in London, Milton Keynes and the North-east. And in June, other areas will be given the chance to bid for their own charging sites. The West Midlands, Cornwall, Sheffield, The Lake District, Greater Manchester and Northern Ireland have already put their names forward for this.

Numerous electric-only cars have entered the market, including a version of the Mini and of the Citrn C1 (pictured), but these have been hampered by the high purchase price of such vehicles and the need for frequent recharging. Few promise to travel as far as 100 miles on a single top-up and the range will drop if used in stop-start traffic. These latest moves go some way at least to address such drawbacks.