Road to Zero Strategy launched by government

The Department for Transport and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles have launched the Road to Zero Strategy to encourage at least half of new cars to be ultra low emission by 2030.

The strategy sets out plans to enable the expansion of green infrastructure across the country, reduce emissions from the vehicles already on the UK’s roads, and drive the uptake of zero emission cars, vans and trucks.

The UK will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040, as set out in the government’s Air quality plan, with the Road to Zero Strategy building on this commitment and outlining how government will work with industry to support achieving this.

Among the measures outlined are a £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund to help accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure, a £40 million programme to develop and trial innovative, low cost wireless and on-street charging technology, a push for chargepoints to be installed in newly built homes, new lampposts to include charging points, the extension of the Plug-In Car and Van Grants to at least October 2018, the launch of an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, and providing up to £500 for electric vehicle owners to put in a charge point in their home through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.

Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “The coming decades are going to be transformative for our motor industry, our national infrastructure and the way we travel. We expect to see more change in the transport sector over the next 10 years than we have in the previous century.

“We are expecting our economy and society to experience profound change, which is why we have marked the Future of mobility as one of the four grand challenges as part of our modern Industrial Strategy. The Road to Zero Strategy sets out a clear path for Britain to be a world leader in the zero emission revolution - ensuring that the UK has cleaner air, a better environment and a stronger economy.”