Officials offer cash payouts to drivers to upgrade their vehicles: 'Accessible to everyone'

The British government is rolling out a new initiative to help incentivize car owners to upgrade to an electric vehicle.

According to the Guardian, the new plan will offer a discount of up to £3,750 ($5,000 USD) if a vehicle meets certain sustainability criteria, and a second wave of discounts giving up to £1,500 ($2,000 USD) per car.

The new standards include the source of power used to manufacture the cars, as well as the vehicles' cost. In other words, if an EV is built using dirty energy from coal, natural gas, or oil, the car won't be eligible.

As a result, some of the world's largest manufacturers won't make the cut. For example, Teslas have a base price tag of £40,000 ($53,300 USD), which is above the £37,000 ($49,300 USD) threshold. Chinese automakers BYD use electricity generated by coal power plants, which disqualifies them from the discount as well.

EVs are a great way to reduce your carbon impact, and by ensuring that only cars that are manufactured in greener ways receive the discount, the British government is going a long way toward pushing for more and more environmentally friendly vehicles.

John Lewis, the chief executive of charging infrastructure company char.gy, said the grant will help to get the UK to a point where "driving electric is accessible to everyone, not just the privileged few."

The original plan had been enacted by former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to incentivize automakers to move away from gas-powered cars, with the eventual goal of banning the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2030. However, current Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer relaxed the regulations after an intense lobbying campaign from auto manufacturers.

"This new scheme could be just the shot in the arm needed to help more drivers go electric," said Simon Williams, the head of policy at the RAC motoring organization. "Within weeks discounted cars should start appearing at dealerships across the country. And, as the biggest savings will be given to cars with the strongest 'green' manufacturing credentials, drivers will be picking models that are not only better for their wallets but better for the planet too."

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