Each week the FASTER Project will provide a snapshot featuring a selection of the latest EV and Sustainable Transport stories making the headlines across the UK and Ireland.
MPs – Electric vehicles should be taxed to avoid fiscal hole
The Commons transport committee has urged government to introduce tax on zero emission vehicles to offset the £35bn in fuel duty losses which are predicted once the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars comes into play in 2030.
Find out more > Yahoo.com
New UK Battery Plant unveils plans to recycle 50,000 EV Batteries each year
The battery technology startup Britishvolt and its backer, the FTSE 100 metals and mining firm Glencore, have announced plans to build a plant capable of recycling lithium-ion batteries used in cars and electronic devices. Once up and running, with the opening planned for 2023, the plant will be capable of recycling a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries a year, equivalent to 50,000 electric car batteries.
Find out more > The Guardian
Photograph The Britishvolt executive chairman, Peter Rolton, at the site of the company’s planned ‘gigafactory’ in Blyth. Photograph: Nick Carey/Reuters
Treasury urged to stop ‘unfair’ VAT policy on public electric car charging
The UK Treasury has been urged to stop making EV drivers who cannot charge at home pay four times more tax for electricity from public chargepoints. VAT on domestic electricity is 5% whereas motorists using on-street chargers are required to pay 20%. FairCharge a new campaign to remove barriers to the transition to EVs has branded the policy as ‘unfair’
Find out more > The National
Electric Car Sales reach new record in Ireland as diesel sales fall
New electric car sales reached their highest monthly figure on record in January with 2,714 registrations. This is an increase of 178% on the same month in 2021 and is the equivalent of the total all electric vehicles bought in the first quarter of last year.
Find out more> Independent.ie
JLR signs for £625m loan to support EV transition
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has signed for a £625m, five year loan to support its scaling up of electric car manufacturing and battery production. The loan is being provided by a coalition of 12 commercial banks and the Export Development Guarantee is being provided by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the Government’s export credit agency
Find out more > Edie.net
UK based EV Production increases by 30% in 2021
Electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for more than a quarter of all cars produced in 2021, according to the latest data.
In its end of year report, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that, while overall UK car production fell by almost 7% to 859,575 vehicles – its lowest figure since 1956 – the number of EVs built in 2021 was up roughly 30% on the year before.
Find out more > Forbes.com
