UK drivers may get £6K taxpayer-funded incentive to switch to electric cars

The British government is considering offering drivers up to £6,000 to swap their ICE cars for electric vehicles ahead of a plan to relaunch the economy, according to the Telegraph.

Electric vehicle boost?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make his economic stimulus speech on July 6. The Telegraph reports:

Britain’s three biggest car makers, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, and BMW — which makes the Mini — all have electric cars at the heart of their manufacturing strategy, and the government is desperate to keep their UK factories open.

Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric vehicle in Sunderland, manufactures more than 500,000 cars in total at the factory, which is Britain’s biggest, and is crucial to the economy of the entire northeast.

Ministers hope that a boost for EVs would encourage Renault to take up spare capacity at its Sunderland plant in the northeast. Renault wants to boost sales of its new Zoe EV (pictured) in the UK.

New car sales in the UK are down almost 90% because of the lockdown in Britain. Car dealerships reopened in early June.

Electrek’s Take

This incentive is kind of a no-brainer, seeing how in February, the UK announced a ban of ICE new-car sales from 2035. That ban includes hybrid and plug-in vehicles, and consumers will only be able to buy electric or hydrogen cars and vans. Further, the UK is also committing £1 billion to new charging points.

This would be a major jump forward for EVs in the UK, as about one-third of UK emissions are created by transport. Fingers crossed the government delivers.