Skip to main content

Queen’s Speech introduces automated and electric vehicles bill

An Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill is to be introduced to encourage the use of electric and self-driving cars, the UK government has announced in the Queen’s Speech this week.
June 22, 2017 Read time: 1 min
An Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill is to be introduced to encourage the use of electric and self-driving cars, the UK government has announced in the Queen’s Speech this week. The Bill is designed to ‘ensure the UK continues to be at the forefront of developing new technology in electric and automated road vehicles’.


The Bill will allow the regulatory framework to keep pace with the fast evolving technology for electric cars, helping improve air quality. It also provides for the installation of charging points for electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Compulsory motor vehicle insurance would be extended to cover the use of automated vehicles, to ensure that compensation claims continue to be paid quickly, fairly, and easily, in line with longstanding insurance practice.

Related Content

  • February 21, 2013
    UK government funding package benefits plug-in vehicle drivers
    UK drivers with plug-in vehicles are set to benefit from a US$57.3 million funding package for home and on-street charging and for new charge points for people parking plug-in vehicles at railway stations. The coalition government will provide 75 per cent of the cost of installing new charge points. This can be claimed by: people installing charge points where they live; local authorities installing rapid charge points to facilitate longer journeys, or providing on-street charging on request from residents
  • March 6, 2015
    New range extenders for hybrid electric vehicles in 2015
    According to the IDTechEx report Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2015-2025, over eight million hybrid cars will be made in 2025, with a range extender, the additional power source that distinguishes them from pure-electric. They will also be in buses, military vehicles and boats: a major new market overall. Today's range extenders consist of little more than off-the-shelf internal combustion engines. They are being replaced by second-generation range extenders - piston engines design
  • July 22, 2016
    Automotive industry releases vehicle cybersecurity best practices
    Members of the US Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC) have released an overview of comprehensive Automotive Cybersecurity Best Practices, developed as a proactive measure to further enhance vehicle cybersecurity throughout the industry. The Executive Summary has been released publicly on the Auto-ISAC website. The Best Practices provide guidance to assist an organisation's development in seven key topic areas, including governance, risk assessment and management, threat de
  • October 28, 2019
    FiveAI starts AV commuter trials in London
    A consortium led by FiveAI called StreetWise is carrying out commuter research trials for autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads in London. FiveAI says the trials will aim to gather insights into AV services, which it says could offer a greener alternative to urban commuter cars. The software company is working with insurance group Direct Line and safety organisation Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out the trials in the boroughs of Croydon and Bromley. As part of the project, FiveAI has