Stephen Metcalfe calls on the Government to supercharge the road to zero

30 Jun Stephen Metcalfe calls on the Government to supercharge the road to zero

Ahead of Clean Air Day on Thursday 20th June 2019 Stephen Metcalfe MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock attended the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association’s (BVRLA) Road to Zero Report Card launch in Parliament.

The launch showed evidence that issues with taxation, charge point infrastructure and vehicle supply are putting the brakes on UK electric vehicle registrations.
The BVRLA represent fleets that own or operate nearly five million cars and vans.

Stephen Metcalfe is particularly interested in electric vehicles and said, ‘I am pleased the Government continues to work towards the targets it set itself in the Road to Zero Strategy. If we want to have a chance of keeping our promise to become ‘net zero’ by 2050, we all need to embrace electrification and speed up our collective actions.’

The people of South Basildon and East Thurrock want to see action to demonstrate how seriously we take clean air and reducing emissions.

‘The vehicle leasing, rental and car club sector offers a faster alternative to get new clean cars on the roads but the right incentives and infrastructure need to be in place.‘

Stephen Metcalfe MP, signed a letter to the Government asking it to speed up its progress on the road to zero emission to ensure the promises made in the Road to Zero strategy and to provide the necessary infrastructure and funding to increase the use of electric vehicles.

The letter called on the Government to:
1. Provide a five-year fiscal roadmap for future EV-related taxes and incentives
2. Set a national quota of EV registrations that ramps up between now and 2030
3. Commit to mandate universal methods of access and payment public EV charging
Stephen Metcalfe concluded by saying:
‘The findings of the BVLA analysis shows that as a country we have put the brakes on when it should be accelerating its plans. We need to prioritise policy measures to increase uptake of electric vehicles in order to meet the Road to Zero targets by its 2050 deadline’