|
The recent decision by London mayor Boris Johnson to scrap
plans to charge the most polluting vehicles £25 a day for
entering the city's congestion charge zone (Click
Here) may have angered many environmentalists, but
not all green businesses were disappointed by the news.
Two of London's leading electric car suppliers - GoinGreen,
the company providing the G-Wiz and the Nice
Car Company, which supplies the MEGA City -
are celebrating the axing of the proposed reforms, which they
feared would dampen demand for electric vehicles.
Under the proposals put forward by former mayor Ken Livingstone,
not only would the most polluting vehicles be charged £25
a day to enter the zone, but the exemption from the congestion
charge currently offered to electric vehicles would have been
extended to low-emission vehicles emitting fewer than 120g
of carbon dioxide per km.
"There was no granularity in the proposals" - said Steve
Hartridge, managing director of GoinGreen. "It somehow did
not seem right that zero-emission electric vehicles should
sit alongside petrol and diesel vehicles as exempt from the
charge, even if they are very efficient cars." He added that,
while there was a case for levelling higher charges against
the most polluting vehicles, there needed to be more of a
"sliding scale" approach to charges that ensured the most
generous incentives continued to benefit genuinely zero-emission
vehicles.
The axing of the proposed changes were similarly welcomed
by Nigel Wonnacot, spokesman for the Nice Car Company, who
said that the firm was pleased that financial incentives enjoyed
by electric cars over low-emission petrol and diesel vehicles,
will remain in place. "We want to see clear measures that
drive people towards the cleanest cars - not just cleaner
cars" - he said. "There was an argument that Ken's changes
would have even led to more congestion by encouraging more
people to drive low-emission vehicles into the zone."
However, Barry Shrier, managing director of Liberty
Electric Cars, which specialises in providing electric
powered Land Rovers, said that it was a shame that the plans
had been scrapped. "Extending the exemptions to cars with
emissions of under 120g per km would have helped lower overall
emissions and encourage people to look at more efficient cars"
- he said - adding that, in the longer-term, electric cars
would have to compete with conventional vehicles based on
their performance rather than the incentives they enjoy.
However, while electric cars will continue to enjoy preferential
treatment with regards to the congestion charge, another key
incentive is set to end after the City of London council last
month announced that it was to end free parking for the vehicles.
Under the changes, existing users of the borough's electric
vehicle scheme will see an increase in on-street parking charges
from zero to £50 per year. The cost of parking in the City's
car parks will increase from zero to £2,000 per year in 2009.
The off-street parking fee will increase further to £4,000
per year by 2010 and £6,396 in 2011 - bringing it into line
with the charges for conventional cars.
The City of London said the incentive was being removed as
it had proved so successful that it had increased vehicle
use in the borough.
Wonnacott said that the decision "flew in the face" of the
support being offered to electric cars by other councils.
"When you compare it to Westminster Council's plans for more
electric car charging points, it is a very disappointing move"
- he said.
Hartridge said that, with the decision coming at a time when
the UK government had signalled that increased use of electric
cars would form a central plank of its strategy to meet emission-reduction
targets, it displayed a "lack of joined-up thinking".
He added that the changes were unlikely to derail the positive
momentum being enjoyed by the sector. "We're seeing real interest
from customers" - he said. "The rising petrol price is obviously
playing a part, while the government's recent support for
electric cars has also helped drive interest."
|
