More British drivers than ever switch to ultra-low emission vehicles

Record numbers of new ultra low emissions vehicles (ULEVs) are on British roads, with sales soaring, new official figures published on Thursday revealed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said almost 10,000 ULEVs were registered between April and June this year, an increase of 49 percent in the same period last year and a 253 percent rise compared to two years before.

The British government says it is committed to tackling climate change and the move to electric vehicles will help cut the country's emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

It is spending over 800 million U.S.dollars in the current parliament to support the rise in ULEVs to achieve an aim for almost all cars and vans on Britain's roads to be zero-emission by 2050.

Around 100,000 motorists are expected to claim government grants to be encouraged to switch to electric vehicles. For cars, the grants are up to 6,000 U.S.dollars and for goods vehicles (vans), the grants are up to 10,700 U.S.dollars. At the same time, more roadside service stations now provide plug-in charging points.

Minister of State of Transport John Hayes said: "I am delighted to see more drivers than ever are choosing electric vehicles. As awareness of the benefits grows, even more motorists will buy these cleaner, greener vehicles, which are cheaper to run."

"These statistics show our investment is making a real difference in encouraging people to choose electric and help protect the environment."

The figures also show that in the April to June quarter of 2016, the total number of all new vehicles registered was 805,000, a 2 percent increase on the same quarter last year.

It was the first quarter since 2003 to see registrations rise above 800,000, indicating the boost that the auto section gives to the British economy, said the DfT. Endit