Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander today admitted she has not been able to afford an electric car – as she prepares to unveil millions of pounds in new subsidies.
The Cabinet minister- who earns around £160,000 – said she had not purchased a vehicle for about six years as it was ‘expensive’.
She also pointed to difficulties in getting charging cables from her terraced house – but said she would ‘definitely’ be buying an EV next time.
Concerns have been growing about flagging sales of EVs and the potential impact on Net Zero targets.
From 2030 sales of new diesel or petrol only vehicles are meant to stop – while from 2035 all new cars must be electric.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander today admitted she has not been able to afford an electric car – as she prepares to unveil millions of pounds in new subsidies
Appearing on the BBC‘s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Ms Alexander said a £63million fund would create tens of thousands of new charging points.
The cash will help councils install cables under roads where there are no driveways.
And a plan due to be revealed on Tuesday would see Brits given grants towards buying an EV.
The scheme – thought to be worth around £640 million – could mean money off downpayments.
The biggest grants are likely to target UK-manufactured vehicles such as Nissan. Similar subsidies were scrapped by the Tories in 2022.
Ms Alexander said there was ‘some good news’ on EV sales, pointing out that as of June one in four new cars in the UK was electric.
‘But we do need to make it easier and cheaper for people to buy an electric vehicle. So today we’re announcing a really big investment, £63 million in charging infrastructure across the country, £25 million for councils so that people like me, who don’t have a driveway.
‘I live in a terrace house, if I had an EV, I’d be asking myself questions about how I would get the electric cable across to the car.’
Appearing on the BBC ‘s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Ms Alexander said a £63million fund would create tens of thousands of new charging points (file picture)
Kuenssberg interjected: ‘So the Transport Transport Secretary doesn’t have an electric car, but you’re telling everyone else to have one?’
Ms Alexander replied: ‘I don’t have an electric car, Laura, but I’m like millions of people in this country who, I bought a new car about six years ago, I’m thinking about the next car that I will purchase, and it will definitely be an electric vehicle.
‘I’m not in the habit of changing my car on a yearly basis, expensive as it is, and so that’s why we’re making £25million available to councils so that they can provide financial support to households who want to put in a cross pavement gulley, so that you can safely run the cable across the pavement.’
