THE FUTURE IS IN ALL OF OUR HANDS

摘要

We know that electric trucks can improve the air quality of our cities, so what is the Government doing to make these a more common sight on our urban streets? The 'Plug in Vehicle Grant' (PiVG) for large vans and trucks has just been revised to offer a maximum of £25,000 for up to 100 qualifying vehicles per annum, and a maximum of 5 trucks per customer. After the 100 grant limit is reached, the grant available reverts to the van maximum of £6,000, meaning there's only around £4m available exclusively for heavy trucks. Compare this to our European neighbours. France awards €50k for any electric or hydrogen commercial vehicle and up to €50k to write the value of an EV down. The Dutch allow up to 40% of the incremental cost for EV versus diesel to be claimed back under a €114m fund. (The Irish have just announced a similar scheme). But perhaps the simplest solution is found in Switzerland, which exempts EVs from road tax, equating to a £90k saving over seven years for a Euro Ⅵ 26 tonner.