The UK has announced nine electric vehicle models that qualify for a £5000 subsidy from January 1st next year:
- Mitsubishi iMiEV
- Mercedes-Benz smart fortwo ED
- Peugeot iON
- Citroen CZero
- Nissan Leaf
- Tata Vista EV
- Toyota Prius Plug-in
- Vauxhall Ampera
- Chevrolet Volt
The government has allocated £300 million, or enough money for 60,000 of the limited-range hippie boxes. It’s bad enough that a nearly-broke country is subsidizing new vehicles, especially the Volt which is really just a trumped-up hybrid, but Transport Secretary Philip Hammond denied reality in his statement to the press. Hammond made this claim:
“Government action to support affordable vehicles and more local charging points means we are on the threshold of an exciting green revolution – 2011 could be remembered as the year the electric car took off. The British public has in the past shown it’s ready to embrace new technology and take practical steps to adopt a lifestyle kinder to the environment, so we could really be at the start of something big.”
If that was truly the case, how does he explain that in 2009 only 55 electric vehicles were sold in the entire country? This may be money the government finds itself unable to give away.
UK readers, remember to point and laugh when you see a hippie rolling by in his subsidy wagon. Until you remember that’s your tax pounds at work, then feel free to cry.
It makes me sick to think there are many families in the UK strugeling this winter, and the goverment take their money by force of law and willfuly waste it on stupid useless things like subsedies for new products, simply because nobody would buy those products without subsedies. The families are suffering and those with authority are sqandering other peoples hard to come by money.
Evil has a new face.