Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

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MB
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Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby MB » Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:18 pm

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61O0WE20100225

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The British government is to give up to 5,000 pounds ($7,668) to anyone who buys an "ultra-low carbon" car from next year and will build recharging hubs, the Department of Transport said on Thursday.

The Plug-in Car Grant of 25 percent towards the purchase price, capped at 5,000 pounds, will be available across Britain for both private and business fleet buyers from January 2011, by which time a range of eligible vehicles should be on sale.

"By this time next year, cutting edge motorists will be on the roads with these next generation cars they've purchased because of our help," Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said.

Only battery electric, plug-in hybrids with emissions of less than 75 g/km, or hydrogen fuel cell cars will be eligible for part of the 230 million pound total fund.

The electric vehicles must have a range of at least 70 miles, or 113 km, while hybrids must be able to run for at least 10 miles without using fuel, and all vehicles must be able to go faster than 60 miles per hour. The government also plans to spend 30 million pounds on a network of electric vehicle hubs, called Plugged-In Places, in car parks, supermarkets and selected streets.

London, Milton Keynes and the north east of England will get the first recharging points -- with a total of 11,000 to be set up in the next three years in those areas.

The programme is a key part of British efforts to cut emissions of climate-warming carbon from transport, which accounts for about a fifth of the country's total emissions.

Recharging electric vehicles overnight is also expected to help use up any excess electricity produced by the thousands of wind turbines that the government wants to be built over the next decade. (Reporting by Daniel Fineren)

My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby andylaurence » Thu Feb 25, 2010 3:51 pm

Great news! All we need now are some cars that can do 70 miles on a charge, more than 60mph and are significantly cheaper than the Tesla Roadster. Do these cars have to be production vehicles, or could a kit car manufacturer release a turn-key range that fits the bill?
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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby Tim » Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:59 pm

andylaurence wrote:Great news! All we need now are some cars that can do 70 miles on a charge, more than 60mph and are significantly cheaper than the Tesla Roadster. Do these cars have to be production vehicles, or could a kit car manufacturer release a turn-key range that fits the bill?


http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/olev/grant/ wrote:Crash safety:
• EC whole vehicle type approval; OR
• crash tested to acceptable international standards (namely, i)A tailored protocol based on EuroNCAP ii) Compliance with crash testing regimes in other developed international markets of similar stringency to Europe; for example USA, Japan, Korea etc

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby ChrisB » Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:04 pm

Lets see if the car companies can actually produce a vehicle that matches the criteria of the subsidies :|

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby MB » Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:08 pm

I've just received confirmation from Reva that the Reva NXR Intercity conforms to this standard and will be elegible for the subsidies.

Based on the list price they've already announced, this means that you'll be able to get a lithium-powered electric car for a decent price.
Last edited by MB on Fri Feb 26, 2010 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby andylaurence » Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:27 am

The Reva NXR is just about usable for me - 134km/day - but I doubt it'd do 134km in the rain, with the lights on at its top speed of 64mph on the motorway. So we're nearly there. I can't believe all these incentives for electric cars and nothing to buy. Companies can save a fortune. If there was a suitable car for £20000, a company could:

  • Claim £5k back through this subsidy
  • Offset the value of the car against their corporation tax (£3150 saved)
  • Pay no Road Fund License
  • Reduce fuel bills
  • Pay no company car benefit

Effectively, a £20000 car would cost just £11850 and have lower running costs. It's so frustrating....
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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby MB » Fri Feb 26, 2010 11:23 am

andylaurence wrote:The Reva NXR is just about usable for me - 134km/day - but I doubt it'd do 134km in the rain, with the lights on at its top speed of 64mph on the motorway.


Of course it wouldn't. I know of no commercially available electric car that can, other than the £90,000 Tesla.

If you are regularly planning on doing those sorts of journeys, why are you even considering an electric car?
If you don't do those sorts of journeys regularly, why are you using that criteria for choosing your next car?
If you want a car so that occasionally you can go longer distances, join a car club for the rare occasions you need one.
My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby andylaurence » Fri Feb 26, 2010 11:29 am

MB wrote:
andylaurence wrote:The Reva NXR is just about usable for me - 134km/day - but I doubt it'd do 134km in the rain, with the lights on at its top speed of 64mph on the motorway.


Of course it wouldn't. I know of no commercially available electric car that can, other than the £90,000 Tesla.

If you are regularly planning on doing those sorts of journeys, why are you even considering an electric car?
If you don't do those sorts of journeys regularly, why are you using that criteria for choosing your next car?
If you want a car so that occasionally you can go longer distances, join a car club for the rare occasions you need one.


That's my daily commute, so it's a basic requirement of any car I buy that I can travel 134km, no matter what the weather, without recharging. I'm considering an electric car because I'm enthused by the technology and they are efficient, which is something I find very exciting. Also, there's significant cost benefits for running an EV. Even the forthcoming Model S is a good financial move, despite a price tag of £45-50000. It's incredibly frustrating that there's a desire to purchase, a real financial incentive and no product!
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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby MB » Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:53 am

The first low-cost electric cars (i.e. sub £20k) are really going to be aimed at people who are predominantly driving shorter distances or driving around towns. A car with an advertised 100 mile range and 70mph top speed won't be able to do 70mph for 100 miles.

For an electric car to be practical for you, you'd need to look into charging facilities during the day so the car can be recharged both at home and at your place of work. In 2011, the Reva NXG with a 200km range will be launched. However, even then I'd suggest you probably would want the safety factor of having daytime charging facilities available.
My new book is out: The 2011 Electric Car Guide is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

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Re: Details for next years UK electric car subsidies announced

Postby andylaurence » Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:20 am

MB wrote:The first low-cost electric cars (i.e. sub £20k) are really going to be aimed at people who are predominantly driving shorter distances or driving around towns. A car with an advertised 100 mile range and 70mph top speed won't be able to do 70mph for 100 miles.

For an electric car to be practical for you, you'd need to look into charging facilities during the day so the car can be recharged both at home and at your place of work. In 2011, the Reva NXG with a 200km range will be launched. However, even then I'd suggest you probably would want the safety factor of having daytime charging facilities available.


If that's really the case, I don't think I'll ever have an EV. I can't rely on having charging facilities at my place of work.

Going back to the type approval thing, isn't there a new low-volume EC type approval scheme that a few kit car manufacturers are taking advantage of? I think Westfield have a car that meets the criteria. This PDF suggests that's the case. Potentially, if that's the case, we could see kit cars with £5000 knocked off the asking price and lithium instead of fuel tanks.
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