Gloucestershire motorists, including private car buyers and business fleet buyers will be offered up to £5,000 as an incentive to buy greener cars, advise Randall & Payne Accountants. The scheme, due to launch in January 2011 is part of the Government’s commitment to tackle climate change by lowering carbon growth and will only be available to purchase electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fueled cars.

In order to be eligible, cars must have been crash tested and meet appropriate safety standards, as well as reaching minimum range and performance criteria. The Government believes that supporting the development and manufacture of ultra-low carbon technology, and giving incentives to buy, will place the UK at the forefront of low carbon automotive development, providing a vital economic boost for the UK economy and giving us a key competitive advantage in this increasingly important global market.

Amanda Weaver, Mitsubishi/Colt Manager of Electric Car Sales in the UK, said: ”The Government scheme is a fantastic boost as we are launching our first true electric car, the ‘Mitsubishi i-MiEV’ in Cirencester in January 2011. This marks the start of a new age in driving. We’ve already taken lots of orders and see the £5,000 grant as a real incentive.”

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “While I am convinced that rail will be the future of long distance inter-urban journeys, we can't ignore the fact that 84% of journeys are made by car and there is no realistic prospect of displacing the private car for point to point complex journeys.”

The incentive, with £43 million available for the scheme up to the end of March 2012, has been confirmed ahead of the completion of the government's spending review in October. This will give more certainty to investors and manufacturers of ultra-low carbon cars and enable them to make long-term decisions on where to launch the vehicles and production facilities.

Ian Selwood from Randall & Payne said: “Part of our business strategy advice involves helping local businesses to make the best use of available grants and this £5,000 grant will reduce the upfront costs of ultra-low carbon cars. As a company car it has zero benefit-in-kind tax and also enjoys write-down tax allowance in the first year. Everything we buy has an impact on the environment and this new scheme will effectively enable businesses to reduce their impact and prove their credentials as part of Gloucestershire’s green economy.”

For full information contact call Ian Selwood on 01242 548600