G-Wiz importer calls for U.K. green car incentive to begin now
Earlier this week, the government in the U.K. announced a £250 million incentive program that would offer rebates of up to £5,000 for purchases of full electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. Although that seems like a nice way to boost electric car sales in the UK, GoinGreen, the UK importer for the G-Wiz sounds unconvinced. The program isn't scheduled to begin until 2011, which is when vehicles like the plug-in Toyota Prius and Vauxhall Ampera (the version of the Chevy Volt that will be available in the UK) are expected to hit the market, so it won't help drivers in the UK who want to buy an electric vehicle right now.
According to a company spokesperson:
Why wait two years when other countries already have subsidies? There is now a danger that the proposals will actually stall the market for electric vehicles over the next two years. If the government really wants people to go green, then why not do it now?We don't necessarily have anything against the two-seat G-Wiz, which recently got an upgrade to lithium ion batteries that push its range up to 75 miles and its top speed to 51 mph, but it's definitely not a vehicle with as much mass-market appeal as something like the Ampera, which can seat 4 occupants and surpass any speed limit in all of Europe. We'd hazard a guess that this is why the government's program is timed to coincide with the launch of mainstream electric vehicles.
Gallery: Reva G-Wiz
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scatter 6:13AM (4/20/2009)
I think this is one thing the government has got about right. It's right to offer the subsidy only for practical vehicles which meet safety requirements and therefore it's right to defer a while. I would probably start it before the end of 2010, but I don't think the 2011 date is set in stone - it's a question of when the vehicles are available (and whether the Labour party is still in power...)
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jeff 11:11AM (4/20/2009)
No the G-Wiz does not offer everything a full size, fully highway capable vehicle does. That doesn't detract from the environmental benefits of driving a car like this. If anything, the small size of this car means it uses even less energy to drive than a full size BEV, it takes up less space on the road, and less resources went into building it in the first place. I don't see why the UK government shouldn't encourage purchases of this vehicle just as much (at least proportionally speaking) as any other BEV or PHEV.
Delaying the incentives also means less incentive for any company to rush their upcoming BEVs to market. There's no reason for any company to put a BEV on sale now because nobody will buy one. The UK government just put all BEV market development on hold for two years, regardless of whether we're talking about quadricycles or not. They should have either delayed the announcement, or they should offer retroactive rebates once the system is in place to actually dish out the money.
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Scatter 11:54AM (4/20/2009)
Cars like the G-Wiz aren't going to replace conventional vehicles, they will be additional to. Proper full size EVs are much more likely to replace conventional vehicles.
I'd like to think that the UK is such an important player that EV development around the world will be put on hold, but somehow I don't think that'll be the case. There are plenty of other markets available to manufacturers. Other than the Think City, is there anything else that's going to come to market this year?
(btw Autobloggreen, a comprehensive listing of all EVs with basic claimed performance data, estimates of first sales dates and production numbers would be very useful).
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edward 2:18PM (4/20/2009)
Tosh, Scatter!
All the gwiz owners I know have replaced ICE vehicle mileage with EV mileage.
In buying an EV, a few now have one more vehicle than they had before. Nobody I know can drive more than one at a time.
Scatter 6:30PM (4/20/2009)
Hehe fair point edward.
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