Drivers will be given up to £6,000 to swap their petrol or diesel cars for electric ones under plans being considered by Boris Johnson ahead of a major speech to relaunch the economy.
The move is designed to provide a shot in the arm for UK electric car manufacturing and for the car industry as a whole after it was devastated by the coronavirus lockdown.
Mr Johnson is understood to have pencilled in Monday, July 6 for the speech, in which he will set out his plans to get Britain back on its feet. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is expected to make a statement on the economy shortly afterwards.
It comes as Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced the creation of five new business-focused groups to “unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs” as part of the bounce back plan.
The Prime Minister is determined to press ahead with the Conservatives’ manifesto commitments, including “levelling up” the country with investment in poorer areas and carrying out large-scale infrastructure projects such as HS2 and 40 new hospitals.
With the third phase of lifting the lockdown due to be announced on July 4, Mr Johnson wants to pivot the nation’s thinking from survival to recovery, and Government departments and business groups have all been asked to contribute ideas for the relaunch.
The Telegraph understands that one of the most eye-catching ideas currently intended for the speech is a new car scrappage scheme, inspired by Gordon Brown’s diesel scrappage drive but this time focused on electric vehicles.
Britain’s three biggest car makers, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW — which makes the Mini — all have electric cars at the heart of their manufacturing strategy, and the Government is desperate to keep their UK factories open.
Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric vehicle in Sunderland, manufactures more than 500,000 cars in total at the factory, which is Britain’s biggest, and is crucial to the economy of the entire north east.
Its future has been thrown into doubt after bosses warned it would be “unsustainable” without a Brexit trade deal, but ministers hope that a boost for electric cars could tempt Nissan’s part-owner Renault to take up spare capacity at the Sunderland plant. Renault hopes its new Zoe electric car will help it to increase market share of the UK electric vehicle market.
By persuading motorists to swap fossil fuel cars for electric ones, the Government would help to stimulate new car sales, which are down almost 90 per cent because of the lockdown, though showrooms reopened earlier this month.
It would also fit with the Government’s commitment to banning the sale of all new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars by 2035. The scrappage scheme, dubbed “cash for clunkers” within Government, would sit alongside a £1 billion investment in charging points to make electric cars a practical alternative for drivers making longer journeys.
Beginning next week, Mr Sharma will chair the first meetings of new “recovery roundtables” bringing together businesses, business representative groups and leading academics.
The aim is to come up with measures to support economic recovery and ensure the UK is at the forefront of new and emerging industries. They will focus on industry, the green economy, supporting start-ups, skills, and investment.
the Telegraph
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