The five day EV Rally of Scotland, promoting the use of electric vehicles, took place in Caithness last week. Image: Alan Hendry
North American MP Jamie Stone has accused the UK government of pursuing an “urban-centric” policy to finance electric vehicles.
He claimed that people living in rural areas were being treated as “an afterthought” and advised against switching to environmentally friendly electric vehicles.
Mr Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, asked the Department of Transportation whether it had assessed the potential benefits of weighting subsidies for plug-in vehicles on rural zip codes. In a written reply, Secretary of Transportation Trudy Harrison stated that this “could add complexity to the system” while increasing the risk of fraud.
Stone said, “We all know that when people in rural areas switch to electric and hybrid vehicles, they face additional challenges – from sparse charging infrastructure to driving distances that exceed the typical range of today’s electric vehicle batteries.
“To dismiss the rural weighting because it could make the existing system of government ‘more complex’ is frankly insulting. People who live in rural parts of the UK are treated as a minor matter by the City Department of Transportation.
“If the government is to level the whole country, as Boris Johnson so often claims, it should first recognize the extra support rural communities need to achieve net zero.”
Ms. Harrison told Stone, “As of 2010, government grants have been available to encourage more people to switch to electric vehicles – nearly £ 1.5 billion has been invested to support the purchase of over 410,000 vehicles to date.
“The grants are available at point of sale across the UK on all eligible vehicles and are included in the advertised price.
“We have not assessed the benefits of weighting subsidies for plug-in vehicles in favor of rural areas. This could add complexity to the program and increase the risk of fraud.
“The government recently received an additional 620 million in targeted grants for plug-in vehicles.
“The government also offers generous tax incentives, including low tax rates on company cars for electric vehicles. These rates have been a strong sales driver and will be confirmed through 2024/25. Local areas can also take measures of their own to encourage electric vehicle ownership, such as discounted prices for resident parking permits. “
The exchange took place a week after a convoy of 23 electric vehicles arrived in Caithness as part of the EV Rally of Scotland in connection with the COP26 conference. The key messages of the five-day tour were that electric cars are not only suitable for short trips in the city and that electric cars are a viable alternative to conventional gasoline and diesel models.
Edmund King, President of the Automobile Association, said the north of Scotland is one of the best regions in the UK for charging points by population.
There are now 76 EV chargers across the Highland Council area.
