Sharon Hodgson MP has welcomed a guarantee from the coalition Government that the planned £5,000 subsidy for electric vehicles will go ahead, but has warned that it may face the axe before the first Leaf has rolled off Nissan’s Sunderland production line.

After pressure from the Washington and Sunderland West MP and others in the Commons, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed last week that the Plugged In Car Grant scheme, initiated by the Labour government, will begin as planned in January 2011.

However, he only guaranteed that the scheme will run for 15 months, and committed less than a fifth of the £230m promised by the Labour government.

The new figure of £43m will stretch to just 8,600 cars, compared to the 46,000 subsidies originally planned, leading Hodgson to express alarm that it may be cut altogether by the time the first Sunderland-produced Leaf hits the road in 2013.

Hodgson said: “I welcome the fact that the new government hasn’t scrapped this scheme altogether – along with my colleagues I have been pressing Ministers for a commitment, and now we have it.

“However, I am very concerned that the Transport Secretary has made no assurances that the scheme will still be running when my constituency needs it the most. The failure to guarantee this vital subsidy casts serious doubt on the future sales of the Leaf in the UK, and in turn the future of hundreds of jobs in Sunderland and beyond.

“I will continue to fight to ensure that this important programme is spared from the Con-Dem cuts.”

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Sharon Hodgson MP
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