EVs Might Be Given Green Number Plates To Boost Sales
Whether it’s a carefully posed Instagram post involving a reusable coffee cup or a Facebook post about a switch to veganism, there seems to be a growing trend of people wanting to publicise the good deeds they’re doing to help the environment.
But what about when someone purchases an electric car? Is driving around in near silence enough a display of one’s virtuousness? Apparently not.
The UK government’s Department for Transport and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles are currently mulling over the idea of giving low-emissions vehicles green number plates. The idea is it’ll act as a “badge of honour” to show other road users and whoever’s walking past your driveway just how much of a lovely human being you are.
According to UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, the move should “increase awareness of their [low-emissions vehicles] growing popularity in the UK, and might just encourage people to think about how one could fit into their own travel routine”. Better infrastructure might help too, although the government has also pledged to ramp up investment in the less than the country’s less than brilliant charging network.
A public consultation will be launched to determine reception to the idea, and also determine how exactly the plates might look. At this stage, it’s not clear which vehicles would be covered by the move, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see plug-in hybrids included.
Similar schemes are already in operation elsewhere in the world. In 2016 part-green plates for ‘New Energy vehicles’ were launched in parts of China, while alternatively-fueled cars in Norway have two-letter prefixes to denote what powers them. Will the UK follow suit? We’ll have to wait and see.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
They already dont collect taxes from owners of electric vehicles right??
As if bright yellow wasn’t obnoxious enough
Exactly, if they want to make them desirable, just make them white on both ends
i love yellow plates, we have yellow front and back in the netherlands. to me it looks way better than all the white plates you see everywhere in europe. and you can almost instantly spot a fellow dutchy if you’re abroad
All these measures to promote EVs got me thinking, what if the an outbreak event similar to CFC gas would occur, who would take responsibility?
pls enlighten me. what has the CFC Gas to do with EV cars??? and on which particular outbreak event do you mean?
Perhaps not a green plate, but why not replace the GB/EU flag that appears on a lot of plates with a green leaf?
Perhaps less ‘in yer face’ and less obtrusive for people that don’t really give a…
When I first heard about this, I assumed that’s what they meant. Perhaps that might still happen. I hope so, because a green plate might look quite naff…
Can I get a red plate for my muscle car to show how inefficient and how poor it’s emissions are?
what about a black one, since it’s the colour of the emissions
And to this I say, “f#ck you British government. I want a coloured plate on my petrol car.”
sees green plates
“Oh would you look at the time, its Downshift O’Clock!”
WooHoo! I REALLY want a green plate, so much so that I’m gonna drive a boring car! WOOHOO!
rlly m8
This would be interesting but it should be optional. There are probably EV owners who don’t want to be lumped in with the “green hippy” image.
Actually these plates could be used for free parking, for example, a green license plate vehicle doesn’t have to pay for parking and pooice can’t issue them a parking ticket for not paying because they have a green plate
The other problem is that green plates may end up looking worse. It’ll look horrible on a yellow car, and a bit too Christmas-y on a red car.
Electric car drivers:more charging stations please
Government:have some green instead, I insist