Electric vehicles can now show off a new green plate
We’ve covered speculations and new government proposals for some time now but it looks like it has finally happened. Green license plates are now a reality for electric vehicles here in the UK.
Starting December 8, anyone driving an electric vehicle with zero emissions can, if they want, sport a license plate with a green block on the left side, replacing the blue block that would have the initials for the country the car was licensed in.
Although the new plates were confirmed back in June to be going ahead and were originally planned to release in Autumn of this year, the plates will be released on December 8.
We know for certain that they are available for cars but the Gov website has not specifically mentioned other vehicles such as motorcycles, vans or even lorries and boats. We can safely assume that green plates will be available for owners of electric motorcycles but it is still unclear if they are available for other electric vehicles like vans, busses, ice cream trucks or even milk floats.
Furthermore, it is important to note that this change is not mandatory and is, in fact, totally optional. If you already own an electric vehicle, the option is now available to sport the flashy new green plates if you wish to do so. Likewise, we assume many dealers will be offering the green plates on new EVs as standard but they’ll likely give you ‘normal’ plates if you ask for it.
It does not come as much of a surprise to know that this announcement has come not long after the recent news that the UK government has decided to move the date forward for the ban on new combustion engined cars. From 2030 onwards, all the new cars sold in the UK will not be allowed to be conventional petrol or diesel cars but instead, will be electric and with certain hybrids also being accepted until 2035.
The new green number plates act as an incentive to motorists to own electric cars so that they can sport the new plates. A kind of vanity plate, if you will. Furthermore, the green plates will also help with local councils incentivising the move to zero emission vehicles by offering free parking or access to special lanes etc.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, said this back in June at the original announcement:
“Green number plates could unlock a number of incentives for drivers and increase awareness of cleaner vehicles on our roads, showing people that a greener transport future is within our grasp.”
Let us know if you would get a green plate if you had an electric car, in the comments!
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I have owned a Peugeot 2008e for 2 months. I will be getting new plates soon, as I have a personal plate on retention, they will be green.