The government has confirmed its ambition to see at least half of new cars to be ultra low emission by 2030 as part of plans to make the UK the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle.
The proposals are outlined in the Road to Zero Strategy, which outlines a number of ambitious measures including:
- a push for chargepoints to be installed in newly built homes, where appropriate, and new lampposts to include charging points, potentially providing a massive expansion of the plug-in network
- the launch of a £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund to help accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure by providing funding to new and existing companies that produce and install charge points. The request for proposal to appoint a fund manager will be launched in the summer
- creating a new £40 million programme to develop and trial innovative, low cost wireless and on-street charging technology
- providing up to £500 for electric vehicle owners to put in a charge point in their home through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, and an increase in the value of grants available to workplaces to install chargepoints so people can charge when they are at work
- the extension of the Plug-In Car and Van Grants to at least October 2018 at current rates, and in some form until at least 2020, allowing consumers to continue to make significant savings when purchasing a new electric vehicle
- the launch of an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce to bring together the energy and automotive industries to plan for the increase in demand on energy infrastructure that will result from a rise in the use of electric vehicles
Strengths in the West Midlands are highlighted in the strategy, including the London Electric Vehicle Company and Jaguar Land Rover in Coventry and HORIBA MIRA in Warwickshire.
The UK will be hosting the world’s first Zero Emission Vehicle summit this year in Birmingham. This event will bring together policy makers, industry experts and opinion formers from around globe to tackle carbon emissions and to explore ways to improve air quality. The summit will continue at the Cenex-LCV low carbon vehicle event at Millbrook Proving Grounds on 12 September 2018.
