We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
The Prime Minister's British motor show appearance adds financial substance to the Government's stated target of reducing CO2 emissions to less than 100g/km
Okay, he's having a tough time of it right now and is nowhere near as popular as he once was - especially in Glasgow East - but at least Gordon Brown is trying to stay chums with the UK motor industry when it comes to future tech.
Who rocked up bright and early to kick tyres and stroke bonnets with the global motoring elite on the first day of the British motor show? David Cameron? The Lib Dems? Maybe the Greens?
No, it was Prime Minister Gordon Brown hobnobbing on the General Motors stand with its European president, Carl-Peter Forster. He probably wasn't there to eyeball the curvaceous lines of the new Vauxhall Insignia - stylish though it is - or indeed the inviting and high quality interior options.
But he did show up when other political types were nowhere to be seen, and according to Forster was very interested in GM's eco-flex plug-in technology as one of the solutions to the Government's target of reducing emissions to a sub-100g/km average (probably through part or full electrification).
Forster conceded this is "a very ambitious target", but he went on to say he "appreciated the initiative of the Government" and stressed that Brown's help was needed to kick-start what is a very expensive technology.
However, at a meeting with the top brass of carmakers and energy providers at the show Brown revealed details of a raft of measures designed to do just that. These included £90 million of funding for UK research, development and demonstration of low carbon vehicles over the next five years, and another £20m to provide 'lead markets' for such vehicles through strategic public procurement, i.e. he'll make Government fleets buy them.
He hopes this will accelerate the transition of Government departments' vehicle emission average to 130g/km within the next three years - conveniently just in time for the EU's own 2012 emissions target for carmakers.
More than just chucking money at the issue, Brown has also pledged to remove planning barriers to enable an electric charging network to be set up, and will work with the National Grid to check it can cope with the potential surge. A low-carbon manufacturing strategy study of how all this can be achieved is due to be launched in the autumn.
Despite all the car-bashing taxes for less efficient vehicles, Brown knows where his bread is buttered. The car industry is vital to UK plc running smoothly (and being able to pay its taxes), and according to Lord Digby Jones, minister of trade and industry, there are 360,000 people employed by automotive firms and their suppliers. Last year, 1.5 million cars were made in Britain, 77% of which were exported.
As Lord Jones said: "We make fabulous, wonderful cars in this country." Brown just wants them to be cleaner more quickly and looks like he might just help in the process.
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
