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Renault is delighted by today’s news that electric van buyers
will be able to receive 20%, up to £8,000, off the cost of their
new purchase. Announced earlier by Transport Minister, Norman
Baker and Business Minister, Mark Prisk, Renault and the UK’s
electric vehicle market as a whole, are set to benefit even
further with confirmation that funding for the Plug-In Car
Grant, which offers electric car buyers up to £5,000 (25% of
vehicle cost), will be funded until 2015. |
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With its 100% electric Kangoo Van Z.E. –
the world’s first electric commercial vehicle produced directly by a
mass-market manufacturer - launched just one month ago, set to be joined
by three electric cars before the Autumn of 2012, Renault is in a prime
position to make the most of this latest boost for low-emission driving. |
With the new grant in place, the
already keenly priced Kangoo Van Z.E., costing from £16,990 excluding
VAT and monthly battery hire, would become even more affordable, from
just £13,592, putting it within only£1,000 of its diesel counterpart.
The French marque has always set out to price its Z.E. models extremely
competitively, with the aim of making them available to customers for
the same price as the diesel-engine version of the same model, in
countries where government tax incentives are in place for electric
vehicles. Today’s announcement goes a long way towards making this
possible and will undoubtedly aid interest in electric vehicles from
business owners of all sizes.
As an ‘ultra-low carbon’ van
manufacturer, Renault will be applying to be part of the Plug-In Van
Grant before the scheme’s application deadline of 31st
January 2012, after which it is believed further details on the scheme’s
extension to vans are likely to be released by the Department for
Transport. With strict eligibility criteria covering range, safety and
ultra-low tailpipe emissions, the Kangoo Van Z.E. should have no issue
in complying, as well as being one of the few electric vans available
through the scheme.
Commenting on the news, Andy Heiron,
Head of Electric Vehicle Programme, Renault UK, said, “Having actively
lobbied for the inclusion of commercial vehicles in the Plug-In Car
Grant scheme over the past year, we’re delighted that the Government has
acted and made this announcement. This addresses the big question that
many customers and industry commentators have been asking us for many
months and I think we can expect to see a surge in demand. Allied to the
environmental and corporate social responsibility benefits of running an
EV, a fully electric van for less than £13,600 with significantly lower
running costs than a diesel, is a very compelling financial argument in
favour of Kangoo Van Z.E.”
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