With the many complaints that are currently prevalent in the UK regarding the prices, it is somewhat surprising to note that so few people are currently choosing to take advantage of a government scheme to promote the use of electric cars.

The initiative was introduced at the beginning of this year, with the government offering a £5,000 grant to anybody who chose to purchase an electric model of vehicle such as the Nissan Leaf.  However, figures released by the junior transport minister Norman Baker revealed that just 534 vehicles had been registered with the scheme, with 213 delivered.

Initially the scheme was introduced by the Labour government to compensate for the fact that electric cars will typically cost the consumer a third more than their more conventional equivalents.  Funding for it only covers 2011, and it will be reviewed by the coalition government – and is likely to be scrapped should the current figures not improve.

However, one upside for those who were responsible for the scheme initially is that whilst figures are lower than the ideal, they are certainly improving, bearing in mind that in 2009 the scheme attracted just 55 cars.  Also, there is expected to be a sales surge come the later months of this year, due to several new cars that qualify for the scheme finally being released onto the market – the Vauxhall Ampera, the Chevrolet Volt and the Toyota Prius Hybrid among them.

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