Before we start, it's worth saying we don't have party affiliations here at Regit. We'll get stuck into Boris Johnson, Sadiq Kahn and anyone in between so long as it's for the good of the UK motorist.
We'll also bring you news from all corners which could affect the way you drive, the cars you buy and the decisions you make. Now that's out of the way, here's one from Labour... and let us know what you think in the comments below.
A Labour Government would offer motorists interest-free loans to make electric cars more affordable and spark a zero-emission revolution in the United Kingdom, Shadow Business Secretary Ed Milliband revealed. Why? To support the motor industry, create jobs, and minimise the traffic pollution that causes health problems. Mr Milliband added that the loans would be available for:
- motorists on a low to middle income
- both new and used electric vehicles.
The Labour Party’s concern is that less affluent drivers are ‘priced out’ the zero-emission market. Such cars tend to be more expensive than petrol and diesel equivalents. On this basis, interest-free loans might make electric cars available to a wider demographic. Labour teased a scrappage scheme, too. This would financially incentivise people to scrap older, more polluting cars.
Increase battery production
Mr Milliband also wants to increase the number of electric car batteries manufactured in the United Kingdom. How? By ‘part-funding’ the creation of three new gigafactories by 2025. The factories would ‘shore up’ the nation’s ‘global electric vehicle market leadership’, Labour emphasised. They would also create jobs.
More electric car chargers
Labour also promised to ‘accelerate the roll out’ of on-street public chargers to make it easier to own electric vehicles. It further wants to ensure that every part of the country has a plentiful supply of car chargers. Areas such as Yorkshire, the North West, and West Midlands are currently ‘left out’, it claimed.
Labour Shadow Business Secretary, Ed Milliband, summarised his proposals. He said: ‘By extending the option to buy an electric car to those on lower incomes and accelerating the roll out of charging points in regions that have been left out, we would ensure that everyone could benefit.’ The proposals are ‘ambitious’, he claimed.
Expert welcomes proposals
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders supports the industry and the proposals. Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said: ‘We have a world-renowned automotive industry. It is not the biggest but it is synonymous with quality, premium, and high engineering excellence. We need to transfer that to electrification’, he added.
‘To ensure we maintain the existing scale we do need gigafactories’, he stressed. ‘We would support any mechanism that helps create the conditions for investment and helps attract investment into the UK. At the moment, we are short of battery manufacturing and we need it to comply with future trade deals. We need it to be able to sustain the industry’, Mike Hawes emphasised.