£5k for motorists buying eco-friendly cars

Motorists will receive up to £5,000 to buy an ultra-low carbon car, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

The Plug-in Car Grant will be available across the UK from next January, by which time the rollout of supporting infrastructure and the increase of eligible vehicles is expected to be well underway.

Some £30 million has been allocated to create the network of Plugged-In Places - areas where electric cars can be charged, usually in car parks, supermarkets and leisure centres.

"Decarbonising transport isn't an aspiration - it's a reality," commented transport secretary Andrew Adonis.

The drive towards increasing the use of ultra-low carbon cars will help the UK meet its stringent emission reduction targets, he added.

Figures from the DfT revealed that road traffic in Great Britain has grown by 85 per cent since 1980, with nearly a third of households now having access to two or more cars.