The UK government said nine plug-in electric cars will initially be eligible for a grant that could reduce the cost of each vehicle by up to £5,000.
The first nine electric cars to become eligible for Plug-In-Car grants are: Mitsubishi iMiEV; smart fortwo electric drive; Peugeot iOn; Citroen C-Zero; Nissan LEAF; Tata Vista EV; Toyota Prius Plug-in; Vauxhall Ampera and Chevrolet Volt.
However, only three of the electric cars — the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the smart fortwo electric drive and the Peugeot iOn — will be available when the grant comes into effect Jan. 1, 2011. The Vauxhall Ampera, Toyota Prius Plug-in and Chevrolet Volt won’t be available until early 2012.
The grant has been configured to reduce the retail cost by 25 per cent up to a maximum of £5000 ($7,935). Under the scheme, the UK government has pledged £43 million ($68.24 million) until the end of March 2012 to help British motorists shift to low-CO2 vehicles.
In addition, the government also announced that five new areas of the country have won funds to install electric car charging points.
The Midlands, Greater Manchester, East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland along with existing ones in London, Milton Keynes and the North-East will share £20 million ($31.67 million) to install 4000 more charging points over the next 18 months.
