{"id":47647,"date":"2014-09-16T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T10:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=6c6d670afe55492b3c3d7cf876d5213c"},"modified":"2014-09-16T10:17:00","modified_gmt":"2014-09-16T10:17:00","slug":"speech-electric-vehicle-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=47647","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Electric Vehicle Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Good morning everyone.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m delighted to join you today (16 September 2014) for this Electric Vehicle Summit.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s a particular pleasure to come to Surrey University, which has done so much important work to advance automotive engineering – in particular, electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also really encouraging to see so many speakers and delegates here from very different professional backgrounds, including the motor industry, academia, local and central government, engineering, and energy.<\/p>\n

Because it is only by working together that we will achieve our ultimate objective – a low carbon road transport system in which electric power is not only seen as a cleaner alternative to petrol and diesel, but also as a more viable, practical and affordable alternative for millions of motorists.<\/p>\n

Some people think that objective is a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

And that the internal combustion engine will somehow carry on powering road vehicles forever.<\/p>\n

Granted, electric car sales got off to a slow start.<\/p>\n

In 2010, the first year of coalition government, just 111 plug-in cars were bought in this country. <\/p>\n

But by 2013, that figure had risen to 3,585. <\/p>\n

And that rapid rate of growth has continued this year. <\/p>\n

Between January and the end of August, almost 6,000 electric cars have been sold – nearly 3 times the equivalent number last year.<\/p>\n

So there\u2019s real momentum in the electric car market today.<\/p>\n

But impressive as the latest sales figures are, they will be dwarfed by what\u2019s to come over the next few decades.<\/p>\n

The reality is that we are standing on the cusp of a technological revolution.<\/p>\n

By 2050, we expect almost every car on the road to be ultra low emission. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s going to be as significant as the move from coal to petroleum.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Baroness<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Where in the past, choosing an alternatively powered vehicle meant making a compromise, a compromise on convenience, a compromise on speed or a compromise on range, that\u2019s increasingly no longer the case.<\/p>\n

Running costs are low. <\/p>\n

The cars are fantastic to drive. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a model for every buyer. <\/p>\n

And I think customers are increasingly reassured by the commitment of the motor industry and the government to the future of the sector. <\/p>\n

We are clear that we want Britain to be the world\u2019s leading market for electric and low carbon vehicles.<\/p>\n

And we also want to ensure that the high value, high technology, low emission vehicles of the future are designed and manufactured in this country.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, in partnership with industry, we created the new Advanced Propulsion Centre<\/a>, backed by \u00a31 billion of investment over 10 years.<\/p>\n

The centre has been set up to develop, manufacture and market a new generation of advanced, green automotive technologies. <\/p>\n

The first 4 projects to benefit were announced in April, and soon we will announce a second round of investments.<\/p>\n

The Deputy Prime Minister has also announced a \u00a3500 million programme of investment in ultra-low emission vehicles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That will create jobs, cut emissions, make motoring more affordable, and ensure that Britain remains at the forefront of green technology.<\/p>\n

The programme is based around 3 priorities that we have developed in partnership with the industry.<\/p>\n

The first, is to shape the emerging market. <\/p>\n

We will invest \u00a3200 million to extend the plug-in grant, which cut the up-front cost of an ultra-low emission vehicle by up to \u00a35,000, making the choice to go green cheaper in the showroom as well as on the road.<\/p>\n

The last quarter saw a doubling of people receiving the grant compared with the previous quarter, which was itself a record.<\/p>\n

Second, we are taking action to extend the electric charging infrastructure. <\/p>\n

The UK already has the best network of rapid chargepoints in Europe.<\/p>\n

And London has more chargepoints than petrol stations. <\/p>\n

But we\u2019ve recently announced a \u00a332 million funding boost for chargers, including plans to install rapid chargepoints across the \u2018M\u2019 and \u2018A\u2019 road network from 2015. <\/p>\n

By the end of this year, there will be rapid chargepoints in every motorway service station in England, taking as little as 20 minutes to charge up a car. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Baroness<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

And we\u2019ve also provided \u00a337 million to make it cheaper to install charging facilities at home and on local streets. <\/p>\n

Third, we will be backing British businesses by providing at least \u00a3100 million for research and development – money that will be more than matched by industry when bidding for projects.<\/p>\n

Together this adds up to one of the most comprehensive support packages for green vehicle development in the world.<\/p>\n

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles<\/a> will continue to co-ordinate the investments and projects to improve value and deliver the best results.<\/p>\n

Our goal is to align research funding with market opportunities, and support emerging technologies that the UK can lead on globally.<\/p>\n

They include innovations in electric machines and power electronics, energy storage and management, and lightweight powertrains.<\/p>\n

We will specifically target areas where commercial funding has not been readily available, or where the cost of getting new products to market has been too high.<\/p>\n

The Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform<\/a> will continue to play a key role, bringing together vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and academic institutions. <\/p>\n

We will also be investing to support the development of low emission trucks, and increasing the number of gas refuelling stations, to cut emissions and costs in our vital freight sector.<\/p>\n

\u00a330 million of funding will boost the market for low emission buses.<\/p>\n

Local councils also have an important part to play – introducing local incentives like free parking and access to bus lanes for low emission vehicles.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve created a \u00a335 million competition to help drive local innovation. <\/p>\n

I hope today I\u2019ve given you a broad idea of the government\u2019s ambitions for the future of electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

I hope I\u2019ve also shown how passionate we are about this.<\/p>\n

The electric car market is already growing faster than anyone thought just a few years ago. <\/p>\n

But the prospects for the future are even more exciting. <\/p>\n

Because we\u2019re not just making the most radical change to motoring for generations.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re transforming the landscape of our towns.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re slashing transport emissions.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re creating many thousands of highly skilled manufacturing jobs.<\/p>\n

And by working hand in hand, we\u2019re securing a more sustainable future for our country – together.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Explains the history and progress made with electric cars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47650,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47647\/revisions\/47650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}