Skip to main content

UK drive to be world leader in electric cars

UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that government will invest more than US$15 million to boost the number of charging points for electric cars. Major car manufacturers BMW, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Vauxhall are all backing the Go Ultra Low campaign in a ground breaking partnership with government to debunk common myths and misconceptions that put drivers off switching to electric or hybrid cars, such as cost and how far the vehicles can travel before being recharged. Electric car o
January 31, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that government will invest more than US$15 million to boost the number of charging points for electric cars.

Major car manufacturers 1731 BMW, 838 Nissan, 2453 Renault, 1686 Toyota and 4231 Vauxhall are all backing the Go Ultra Low campaign in a ground breaking partnership with government to debunk common myths and misconceptions that put drivers off switching to electric or hybrid cars, such as cost and how far the vehicles can travel before being recharged.

Electric car owners do not have to pay car tax or congestion charges and many charge points are free to use. The cars cost from just 2 pence (US$3) a mile, which means a family that drives an electric vehicle 10,000 miles in a year would save around US$1,600 on fuel costs each year.

There are already more charging points than filling stations in London, but to make driving an electric car possible for everyone, the US$15 million funding will be used to create hundreds more charging points across the country, including 140 new rapid charge points which can charge an electric car in less than half an hour. This will cement the UK’s position as one of the best for electric vehicle recharging networks in Europe.

Announcing the funding, Clegg said: “Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the UK’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles. The extremely low running costs of electric cars help drivers save money and we are allocating more than US$15 million to boost charge points across the country to help drivers to go green. This means we can lower UK emissions and create high-tech engineering and manufacturing jobs to boost our economy.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS investment on upward curve
    August 17, 2022
    More money is coming into the ITS sector – but where is it likely to go next? And what are the pros and cons of all this cash? Adam Hill talks to ITS veteran and corporate investment adviser Greg McKhann
  • Caltrans takes the long view of transport
    October 21, 2016
    Caltrans’ Malcolm Dougherty took time out of his schedule at ITS America 2016 in San Jose to talk to ITS International about current and future challenges. As director of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) since mid-2012, many would say that Malcolm Dougherty has one of the best jobs in transportation. Caltrans is one of the most progressive and innovative transport authorities, implementing policies to encourage cycling, piloting new
  • Gridserve unveils 'mass charging' EV forecourt
    December 11, 2020
    Company says it can charge 36 EVs at once, adding 200 miles of range in 20 minutes
  • EU proposes minimum of 8 million EV charging points by 2020
    January 29, 2013
    The European Commission has unveiled measures to boost the deployment of alternative fuels, including electricity and hydrogen, in EU transport. Under the Clean Power for Transport package, the Commission proposes a minimum number of recharging points per country with common standards for interoperability throughout the EU. Even though alternative fuels, such as electricity and hydrogen are available in the market, there are several obstacles that prevent their wider deployment. According to the European Co