Scotland: Ever more money to switch to electric cars

The Scottish government has increased funding to programmes that bring them closer to their goal to finish all sales of combustion engine vehicles by 2032. Hence the budget for the Low Carbon Transport Loan has risen from £8m to £20m for 2018/19 with new schemes being introduced.

Overall, Scotland wants its citizen and industry to switch to electric vehicles of any kind. The latest increase in budget that almost triples the initial funding also includes new schemes such as the Switched on Towns and the Cities Challenge Fund to promote greater use of electric cars in cities.

Moreover, those travelling over land may benefit from the Electric A9 project, which aims to improve the availability of electric charging points on Scotland longest trunk road.

Says Transport Minister Humza Yousaf: “The Electric A9 will greatly expand and build further resilience into our existing ChargePlace Scotland infrastructure, which is already one of the most comprehensive in Europe.”

Each hub across the route will provide multiple charge points and access to amenities. At 273 miles (439 km), the A9 is the longest road in Scotland. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o’ Groats, and has been called the “Spine of Scotland”.

Transport Scotland had announced their plan to ban all sales of ICEs in March this year and Scotland is going for a stricter approach than neighbouring England both in terms of implementation date (8 years earlier) but also in terms of classification: While cars must have a plug-in system in Scotland in the future, England will accept also HEVs but exclude mild hybrids. However, there has been a call on the British government to move their low carbon plan forward by ten years (we reported). Westminster has yet to answer.

Up north in Scotland though, the Low Carbon Transport Loan Fund will even have £500,000 available for interest-free loans of up to £3,000 to help individuals and businesses purchase e-bikes and e-cargo bikes reportedly, making Scotland’s plan to decarbonise the country a most comprehensive one.

bbc.co.uk (new funds), chargeplacescotland.org (Electric A9), energysavingtrust.org (all loans & grants)