UK Subsidizes Electric Car Purchases with £5,000

The United Kingdom has recently taken a major step forward in combating climate change and global warming, when it has decided to offer drivers seeking to buy new cars 5,000 pounds in aid, if they select an electric vehicle. The move, which has been highly applauded, is aimed at ensuring that environmentally friendly automobiles flood the UK market, and relies on the fact that people would gladly take money from the state for their individual purchases.

Critics to the new governmental decision say that the country should invest more money into developing more efficient public transportation systems, as well as in renewable energy, such as solar panels and wind farms. They argue that encouraging drivers to acquire more vehicles would do little to reduce the impact that existing, petroleum-powered cars already have on the environment, on account of the fact that the streets will become more clogged, and thus more polluted.

“The big problem is that the next generation of electric cars will initially be very expensive to make – manufacturers say about double the price of a petrol car. Without subsidies, nobody will buy them, so manufacturers won't be able increase production and get the price down. They won't be solely electric cars but hybrid cars, which can run for 40 miles before the petrol engine kicks in,” Jay Nagley, who is a Spyder Automotive analyst, told the BBC.

“Electric cars are only as green as the electricity they run on – ministers must do far more to boost the UK's flagging renewable energy industry. Low carbon vehicles are certainly part of the future, but more extensive measures are needed to make the necessary cuts in transport emissions. Far more must be done to get people out of their cars by making public transport, cycling and walking more attractive options,” Tony Bosworth, who is a campaigner for the Friends of the Earth environmental group, added.

Some government officials complain that the measure will do little to aid the masses, which are currently struggling against increasingly hard economic conditions. “The Labor plan announced today is like giving people a grant to buy an internal combustion engine, without bothering to set up any petrol stations,” Shadow Chancellor George Osborne explained.