By Jon Tarrant
IN the form set out in the original carbon-neutral roadmap, the government’s subsidy for electric-vehicle purchases would be granted only if another vehicle was scrapped at the same time.
This requirement was sensibly dropped from the incentive scheme that is now in place, although the 2022 version of the roadmap still allows for its possible revival at a future date.
The current side-lining is a sensible move when second-hand petrol/diesel vehicles provide essential access to personal transport for those whose financial situation (or preference) rules out a new purchase.
But at the same time, it is important to ask people to think seriously about their vehicle needs, while also providing long-term incentives that will reward favourable choices.
The latest stance on this front is contained within the Sustainable Transport Policy: Next Steps, published in December 2023, where the “mobility hierarchy” pyramid gives lowest priority to single-occupancy vehicles, while also noting that 40% of people drive to work alone.
The same mobility hierarchy that gives single-occupancy cars lowest priority, ranks motorcycles two steps higher, just below public transport. Why is this when many motorcycles carry only a single rider? Might it be useful to split cars into two categories, separating out those that are designed for only one or two occupants and aligning these vehicles with motorcycles?
Instead, there is policy research under way with the stated aim of “managing down vehicle demand and encourage modal shift to cycling, walking, wheeling and bus travel” (whatever “wheeling” may be).
Parallel work is considering new taxes in the form of a workplace parking levy or treating workplace parking as a benefit in kind.
All of this is a ludicrously unrefined approach to personal transport when it would be far more sensible to consider how current behaviours might be modified rather than simply ousted.
It is a shame that the last Smart fortwo rolled off the production line in Hambach, France, at the end of March, but Renault has the Duo to succeed its Twizy and Citroen’s Ami is becoming more common on our roads. This market sector might be one that deserves special support on a small island, promoting micro-EVs as the ideal way to reduce commuter congestion on our roads.
There could even be car parks designed exclusively for the use of the smallest EVs. In my mind’s eye, I picture something inspired by Barcelona’s Park Guell that would be pleasing to the eye as well as the environment. It might be an especially welcome addition in a central town location.
EV registration figures that are freely available on the government’s open data portal make fascinating reading. They reveal that in 2023 there were almost as many EV registrations in the four months from September to December 2023 as there were in the preceding eight months up to the end of August. It is very likely that the significant per-month jump after August provides evidence that the government’s purchase-subsidy (EVPI) is proving effective.
It is just a shame that nothing in the EVPI scheme specifically incentivises smaller vehicles to address the “excess capacity” that comes under fire when scrutinising single occupancy. Maybe this will be done through a very substantial weighting scheme when road tax is reintroduced, perhaps based on battery capacity and (more importantly) motor power, to offset falling duty from fossil fuels when EVs really start to take off.
Importantly, the £3,500 EVPI subsidy applies to any vehicle up to £40,000 that is first-registered in Jersey. It covers not only new vehicles but also second-hand imports, which have been very much on the increase.
In fact, there were more imported second-hand EVs registered during September to December 2023 than all EVs (new and second-hand put together) for the same period in 2022.
But we should not be complacent. CBS has just reported that January to March sales of EVs in the US have slowed because electric transport is failing to penetrate the mainstream market after converting the early adopters, who are always the low-hanging fruit for any new technology.
A similar lack of growth is also becoming apparent in the UK, according to electrifying.com, Jersey needs to act now with a specific and purposeful vision to prevent similar stalling here.
For me, personally, the big question is whether anybody wants to swap my 1974 Lancia Fulvia project car, currently in need of some TLC, for a pre-loved Smart for two? Much though I love my Lancia, the future is electric.
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Jon Tarrant is a science communicator. His articles have appeared in the Times Educational Supplement, School Science Review, Science in School and Physics World. He is also the author of a number of books on photography and blogs at physbang.com.
