Electric vehicles: What would the new government £6,000 scheme mean?

The UK government is reportedly considering launching a new scheme where drivers could be given up to £6,000 to trade in their petrol or diesel vehicle for an electric one, and it’s thought that Boris Johnson will announce the measures on the 6th of July.

The new scheme is likely to give the UK car industry a boost, as new figures suggest that there has been a 90% decline in car sales when comparing year on year stats from May. It’s expected that Britain’s three biggest car manufacturers – Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and BMW will benefit from this new scheme, as they all have electric cars at the heart of their sales strategies.

It’s also likely that this new scheme will help the government’s commitment to banning sales of all new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars by 2035.

So, how does it work?

Reports suggest that the car scrap scheme will soon be introduced, and it will mean that you could trade on your old petrol or diesel car (even if it’s worth very little), and get £6,000 off the cost of a new ‘green’ vehicle.

It’s though that this will cover pure electric cars, but also hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles which also have an internal combustion engine on board.

Who will be eligible?

After the banking crash, a similar scheme was introduced in 2009 to help boost the car trade. Back then, the criteria were that the grant could only be used for:

• Brand new, unregistered vehicles bought in the next 12 months

• Trade ins that were at least 10 years old

• Cars that had insurance, tax and MOT

• Vehicles that had been owned for at least 12 months

This time round, the new car will also need to be ‘green’ and have some electrical propulsion – though this hasn’t yet been defined.

Why opt for an electric car?

In addition to helping save the planet, one of the main benefits of having an electric vehicle is the fact that running costs are so much lower. Fuel is cheap, there’s very little to service – plus modern electric vehicles can do 200 to 300 miles on a single charge. And finally, they’re smooth, silent and surprisingly speedy.

Whatever your taste, most car manufacturers now have their own electric models, from Nissan to VW, and Jaguar to Tesla – there’s something for everyone.

While we don’t know exactly when this new scheme might start, we do know that the current government £3,000 scheme has been extended to 2022-23. Briefings suggest that Boris Johnson would like to make an announcement on 6th July – so watch this space!