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The government is expected to announce an extra \u00a31.3bn in funding for a scheme encouraging the use of electric vehicles (EVs) at next week’s Budget. <\/p>\n
The Electric Car Grant scheme started in July as part of the move to zero emission vehicles. The government says it has helped 35,000 switch to EVs.<\/p>\n
However, early research suggests there is little indication the scheme has attracted entirely new buyers. <\/p>\n
There will also be money to create more charging points, and a consultation on helping people without driveways to charge their cars. <\/p>\n
It is also possible EV owners could face a new tax elsewhere in Wednesday’s Budget in the form of a pay-per-mile charge in future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
All new cars will have to be electric or hybrid from 2030, when a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars comes into force.<\/p>\n
The Electric Car Grant scheme, which provides a discount of up to \u00a33,750 on eligible vehicles, was launched with an initial fund of \u00a3650m.<\/p>\n
New AutoMotive, a non-profit organisation supporting the UK’s transition to electric vehicles, found in a recent study<\/a> that the scheme had yet to expand the market for EVs.<\/p>\n EVs covered by the scheme made up 23.8% of new registrations in September, the same as their share before the Electric Car Grant was announced, New Automotive said.<\/p>\n “It isn’t yet clear that it’s prompting consumers to consider buying cars that they wouldn’t have gone ahead and bought anyway,” David Farrar, policy manager for New AutoMotive, said at the time.<\/p>\n The Budget is also expected to announce a further \u00a3200m for speeding up the rollout of chargepoints across the UK.<\/p>\n