Fiat seeks incentives from UK for motorists to buy electric vehicles

theguardian.com:

Fiat has called on the government to boost incentives for British motorists to buy electric vehicles, after warning that growth in UK sales of the vehicles has tailed off after a key subsidy was scrapped last year.

Writing in an open letter to the government, the car manufacturer said other countries around the world were providing more support for the transition to electric vehicles and argued more action was required in Britain.

It comes a year after ministers scrapped the last remaining subsidies for electric cars, saying it would free up funds to expand the charging network and support other battery-powered vehicles.

However, car manufacturers warned this week of a gulf between the number of electric vehicles on the road and public charging points, with the shortfall more than doubling in some parts of the country in the past year.

Damien Dally, Fiat’s UK managing director, said urgent steps were required to incentivise consumers to buy electric cars, suggesting that government targets for electric vehicle sales were at risk.

“With the cost of living crisis and rising cost of electric vehicles, coupled with our net zero climate targets, we believe more needs to be done to incentivise individuals to be able to afford to make the switch,” he said in the letter.

The intervention comes as governments across advanced economies drive to increase electric vehicle sales and boost manufacturing capacity for new lower-carbon models to help meet environmental targets and spur economic growth.

In the UK, Stellantis, Fiat’s parent company, said last month that it would not be able to keep its commitment to make electric cars in the UK and might have to close factories unless changes were made to post-Brexit trading arrangements with the