electric van charging

The government is to consider extending the grant system for low-emission vans to larger vehicles, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has revealed.

In a report on its plans for 2015-2020, the OLEV said uptake of the van grants which have only been available for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes GVW, had so far been "low", adding that it would consider extending the scheme "to include larger vehicles and possibly other vehicles which we have not supported to date".

A spokesman for the DfT later told Motortransport.co.uk that just 441 van grants were issued up to the end of March 2014.

The OLEV report also revealed plans to roll out more electric vehicle recharging points and HGV gas refuelling stations.

It promised £32m to extend recharging infrastructure, including a rapid electric vehicle chargepoint at every motorway service station by the end of the current year and over 500 rapid chargers around the country by March 2015; and £4m to establish an "initial network" of both CNG and LNG gas refuelling stations "to support freight and logistics operators in their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their businesses".

FTA head of urban logistics Christopher Snelling welcomed the news. He said: "We anticipate that the funding package will contribute to increasing the uptake of gas and biomethane HGVs as the current lack of public refuelling infrastructure is one of the major factors preventing the market from taking off.

"Ultra low emission vans are not yet widely commercially viable, so the continued support in this area is vital to help develop this market," he added.

Further details of the plans will be published in the autumn.

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