Latest government support for low-emission vehicles will encourage fleets, says BVRLA

Yesterday’s announcement that the Government is to spend a further £500m to support low-emission vehicles between 2015 and 2020 has been welcomed by the BVRLA.

In the announcement, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) confirmed that:

• It will continue to provide the plug-in car grant until at least 50,000 vehicles have been sold or until 2017, whichever is the sooner
• It will continue to provide a plug-in van grant and will review whether the scope of the grant should be widened
• It will make up to £35m available to up to four cities that can provide a step-change in ULEV adoption by introducing incentive measures such as: access to bus lanes, ULEV car club support, parking policies and infrastructure for residents
• It will provide a £32m fund to improve the amount of charging infrastructure available at home and in the workplace

Commenting on the announcement, BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: ‘Some of the key messages that came out of our meetings and workshops with OLEV were around the need to provide a more varied range of in-life incentives that would help support the up-front car grant and tax advantages.

‘We are really pleased that the Government has listened to our recommendations and is now encouraging local authorities to explore bus lane and parking incentives.

‘However, we are concerned that offering these incentives in isolated locations could leave ULEV drivers confused over which bus lanes they can use or where they can park for free and would suggest that, if successful, these measures are rapidly introduced nationwide.

‘The announcement on workplace charging infrastructure is also very welcome as we believe that supporting this will encourage businesses to add ULEVs to their company car choice lists for employees.’