UK to Offer £5000 Incentive to Green Car Buyers

Buying an electric car is not only a smart choice during the current difficult economic conditions but also a solution to protect the environment. And the UK government is striving to encourage people to migrate towards electric cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that would basically reduce the usage of petrol and diesel.

In this context, the British officials announced that buyers who choose one of the aforementioned types of vehicles starting from January 2011 will be eligible for a "Plug-In Car Grant" of up to 5,000 pounds as part of a 230 million pounds scheme.

To support the adoption of green cars, the government will also grant 30 million pounds for installing 11,000 charging stations in London, Milton Keynes and North East England.

Obviously, such an initiative makes green-car producers extremely happy, including Nissan, Vauxhall and Mitsubishi.

“We welcome the announcement that the government is to incentivise sales of electric vehicles. These incentives will bring electric vehicle ownership within reach of UK motorists and make cars like the Nissan Leaf a financially viable alternative to conventional petrol and diesel-powered cars," Paul Willcox, Managing Director at Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, said.

"Vauxhall applauds the Government's commitment to electric drivetrain technology and will continue to work closely with them to ensure the successful implementation of an electric vehicle infrastructure across the UK," Duncan Aldred, Managing Director of Vauxhall, said.

Both Nissan and Vauxhall are planning to step on the electric vehicle market in 2011 with the launch of the Leaf and the Ampera, respectively.