UK Charging Ahead With Rebate Incentives and Expanded Infrastructure For Electric Vehicles
March 13, 2012 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis An expanded plug-in car van grant has been announced for the United Kingdom by Transport Secretary Justine Greening and Business Minister Mark Prisk in a joint statement.
Azure Dynamics Transit Connect Electric Van now eligible new United Kingdom plug-in car van grant. Photo courtesy of autocarinterior.com.
Van buyers will be able to receive 20 percent – up to £8,000 – off the cost of the first wave of eligible plug-in van models.
The first seven vans to be made eligible for the grants are:
- Azure Dynamics – Transit Connect Electric
- Daimler Mercedes-Benz – Vito E-Cell
- Faam – ECOMILE
- Faam – JOLLY 2000
- Mia-electric – Mia U
- Smith Electric – Smith Edison variants SE2 and SE3
- Renault – Kangoo ZE variants Kangoo VAN ZE, Kangoo Van Maxi ZE, and Kangoo Van Maxi Crew ZE
Encouraging a switch to electric vehicles, especially in the commercial sector, Prisk said, “Business that run electric vans can benefit by reducing refueling costs; becoming exempt from the van benefit charge; attracting capital allowance concessions; and also receiving a 100 percent discount for the congestion charge in London.”
To be eligible for the grants, the vans will have to meet performance criteria to ensure safety, range, and emissions standards. Consumers, both business and private will receive the discount at the point of purchase, according to the government.
The van grant is an extension of the current plug-in car grant, which offers 25 percent – up to £5,000 – to motorists buying a new plug-in car. Ministers have reconfirmed that there is funding secured for this grant until 2015.
Greening announced separately that the Mia Electric (Mia and Mia L models) are now also eligible for the plug-in car grant, which is a consumer grant of up to £5,000.