Electric cars ‘a failure’ as only few grab £5k Government grant towards cost
GENEROUS grants to put more electric or hybrid cars on Britain’s roads have failed, a study claims today.
The Government offered £5,000 grants towards the cost of buying eco cars – to get up to 1.7 million on the roads by 2020.
But only 3,633 have been bought.
Even with the grant a family car can cost at least £23,000.
There are practical hurdles, too. Many have a range of only 100 miles and can take eight hours to recharge.
The study, by energy experts Ricardo-AEA, says even the most optimistic forecasts believe no more than 200,000 green cars will have been bought by 2020.
The report was issued the week after the unveiling of the Nissan Leaf, the first electric car to be made in the UK, and was commissioned by the UK Petroleum Industry Association and the RAC Foundation.
Professor Stephen Glaister, for the RAC, said: “Electric cars might eventually come into their own but there is no guarantee they won’t be beaten by other low-carbon technologies.”