New £20m government funding to accelerate mass adoption of electric cars

Scots will have access to a slice of a £20m government fund to purchase electric vehicles (EV), as part of ministers’ net zero plans.

The funding will run across 2025-2026 and aims to encourage low-income households to buy electric cars, which tend to be initially more expensive to purchase than traditional petrol and diesel vehicles.

It marks the latest round of government funding to facilitate the transition to cleaner transport and will help residents from poorer communities switch to EVs via three separate interest-free loans.

By facilitating the access to such vehicles, the government looks to make green transport “the natural choice for drivers by 2030”, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said.

The presence of ultra-low emission vehicles on Scottish roads has increased over recent years. According to the latest statistics from Transport Scotland the number of such vehicles registered north of the border rose by 20 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

Hyslop said: “I’m pleased to announce the allocation of £20m to support our electric vehicle support schemes. During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this will help people access the benefits of modern electric vehicles at a greater range of price points. This means that more people can take climate action as part of our transition to a net zero transport system.

“These loans are in addition to what Scotland is already investing through our core Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. These streams of investment work in tandem to make electric cars and vans the natural choice for drivers by 2030.”

Since 2011, the government has been providing funding to incentivise the uptake of EVs as part of its plans to cut the environmental cost of the transport sector, which is Scotland’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The government has also invested more than £65m in public charging infrastructure and has plans to add 24,000 more charge points within the next five years.

Hyslop added: “Scotland is currently the only part of the UK offering financial support in the form of an interest free loan for consumers to purchase electric vehicles. Since our loan schemes began in 2011, we have provided interest free loans worth £230m. This has supported individuals and businesses including the taxi sector across Scotland purchase over 8,700 zero and ultra-low emission vehicles saving an estimated 230,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.”

The funding programmes are delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government by the Energy Saving Trust.