Press release

New measures announced to support the uptake of plug-in vehicles

A £37 million funding package is set to benefit drivers with plug-in vehicles

From:
Department for Transport, Office for Low Emission Vehicles and The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin
Published
19 February 2013
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Chargepoint grants

Drivers with plug-in vehicles are set to benefit from a £37 million funding package for home and on-street charging and for new charge points for people parking plug-in vehicles at railway stations.

The coalition government will provide 75% of the cost of installing new charge points. This can be claimed by:

  • people installing chargepoints where they live
  • local authorities installing rapid charge points to facilitate longer journeys, or providing on-street charging on request from residents who have or have ordered plug-in vehicles
  • train operators installing new charge points at railway stations.

The £37 million funding for the package comes from the government’s £400 million commitment to increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles and is available until April 2015.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:

This investment underlines the government’s commitment to making sure that the UK is a world leader in the electric car industry.

Plug-in vehicles can help the consumer by offering a good driving experience and low running costs. They can help the environment by cutting pollution. And most importantly of all, they can help the British economy by creating skilled manufacturing jobs in a market that is bound to get bigger.

Business Minister Michael Fallon said:

The government is supporting a range of ultra low emission vehicles. Today’s announcement will make the consumer environment for plug-in vehicles more attractive and, in turn, makes the UK a more compelling place to invest. There are huge business opportunities so we’re committed to ensuring the UK leads the way globally for low carbon vehicles.

The full package announced today includes:

  • up to £13.5 million for a 75% grant for homeowners in the United Kingdom wishing to have a domestic chargepoint installed
  • an £11 million fund for local authorities in England to:
    • install on-street charging for residents who have or have ordered a plug-in vehicle but do not have off-street parking - authorities can apply for up to 75% of the cost of installing a chargepoint
    • provide up to 75% of the cost of installing rapid chargepoints in their areas around the strategic road network
  • up to £9 million available to fund the installation of chargepoints at railway stations
  • up to £3 million to support the installation of chargepoints on the government and wider public estate by April 2015
  • a commitment to review government buying standards (mandatory for central government departments) to lower the fleet average CO₂/km of new cars and encourage the uptake of plug-in vehicles in central government.

The package also includes a previously-announced £280,000 of funding to expand the Energy Saving Trust’s plugged-in fleets initiative in England to help a further 100 public and private sector fleets to understand and identify where ultra low emission vehicles could work for them.

Notes to editors

The government has committed £400 million over the lifetime of this Parliament to support ultra-low emission vehicles. This already includes funding for a consumer incentive of up to £5,000 for eligible cars and up to £8,000 for eligible vans; and £82 million for research, development and procurement programmes. We have also provided funding to kick-start the installation of recharging points through eight regional schemes in the UK.

The measures within the package are being met from within an existing £400 million funding provision announced in 2010.

As of 31 December 2012, over 3200 claims have been made for the plug-in car and plug-in van grants. Total claims for the quarter October to December 2012 were more than 20% higher than in the previous quarter. Claims in 2012 for the plug-in car grant, which has been available since January 2011, were 2 and a half times higher than in 2011.

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Published 19 February 2013