Putting our foot on the gas with electric cars

More and more of us are turning to plug-in vehicles

THE transition to electric cars is accelerating although there’s still a long way to go until they become a common sight on our roads.

New figures from the Department for Transport have revealed ultralow emission vehicles (ULEVs) accounted for 6% of all new cars registered in the UK at the start of this year.

That’s up from just over 2% during the same period in 2019 and 2018.

ULEVs are mostly battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, although some also use hydrogen fuel cells.

They emit less than 75 grammes of carbon dioxide from their tailpipe for every kilometre travelled.

There were 31,655 ultra-low emission cars newly registered between January and March this year, bringing the total number in the UK up to 278,918.

It means the number on our roads has nearly tripled in the last three years, with just 97,565 of these cars registered at the start of 2017.

ULEVs still only make up a small proportion of the cars on the road less than 1% of nearly 33 million registered.

However, new registrations of ultra-low emission cars have been rising at a much faster rate than other cars, suggesting a rapidly rising market penetration.

RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “The growth in the sale of electric vehicles is very promising more

and more drivers are realising the benefits switching to such vehicles bring, including a much lower cost of running and the satisfaction from driving a zeroemissions car.

“The key now is maintaining momentum, especially with concerns about the state of the economy following the coronavirus pandemic. RAC research shows that the upfront cost of new electric vehicles continues to be a barrier to more widespread take-up, which is why we’d like to see the Government look again at the cuts it made to the plug-in car grant - the grant is crucial in helping make the switch to these cleaner vehicles more affordable.

“In many ways, we need to see the new car market awash with electric vehicles, so that over time the

options for buying them more affordably on the used car market begin to grow. Only then will electric cars become ubiquitous, making them an easier choice for all drivers next time they come to change their vehicles, whether they usually buy new or second-hand.”

The government is currently exploring several schemes to encourage people to move to electric cars.

One that will be going ahead confirmed in June and to be rolled out this autumn - will see special green number plates for electric vehicles (EVs).

The DfT claim these plates will make EVs easily recognisable to councils and businesses wishing to incentivise low-carbon transport.

They also believe being able to easily see which cars are EVs will help people recognise that a “greener transport future is within our grasp”.

However, motoring companies like the RAC are sceptical that the scheme will have any real effect without further financial incentives.

The DfT also announced a further £12m of funding for projects working to decarbonise the road transport sector.

Around £10m will be spent on a new innovation competition, while the remaining £2m will go directly to small and medium businesses researching zero-emissions vehicles.

Meanwhile, in March’s Budget, the government pledged £500m for fast-charging networks for EVs, allocated £403m to extend the Plug-in Grant for cars through to 2023, and set aside £129.5m for grants for taxis, vans and motorcycles.

Further funding is expected once the DfT finishes developing roadmaps for decarbonising “every single mode of transport” in line with the UK’s 2050 net-zero target.