The British government has announced a long-term extension to the plug-in car grant, backed by a £400 million package to treble the number of ultra low emission vehicles.

The grant will continue well beyond the latest guarantee of February 2016 until at least the end of March 2018 and will mean more than 100,000 people will benefit over the coming years — double the number who have already claimed the grant since 2011.

From 1 March 2016, ‘Category 1’ vehicles with a zero emission range of over 70 miles will benefit from a grant of £4500. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are also eligible, thanks to their zero tailpipe emissions.

The government has committed to make nearly all cars and vans in the UK zero emission by 2050, and announced in the Spending Review to increase funding to £600 million between 2015 and 2020 to support the development, manufacture and uptake of ULEVs.

This commitment was reinforced when the UK was one of 14 international members of the Zero Emission Vehicle Alliance to sign a pledge promoting the uptake of electric cars at the recent Paris climate conference.