Electric and Hybrid Cars GREEN number plates proposed to promote awareness

The government has launched a consultation process to decide if ultra-low emission vehicles – like EVs and plug-in Hybrids – should get green number plates to promote awareness.

The Department for Transport is proposing that ultra-low emission vehicles, like FCEVs, EVs and plug-in Hybrids, should be identified by unique Green number plates.

The idea is that having cars running round our roads which shout they are low emission will promote the whole ‘Green’ thing, and encourage motorists to take the leap in to electrification.

Other countries – including Canada, Norway and China – already have similar schemes, although there seems to be no evidence the easily identifiable ultra-low emission plates actually do anything to encourage take-up of EVs.

However, the proposal is probably more about making it easy to identify cars which are genuinely low emission as more and more of our roads exclude normal ICE cars, making it easier to issue fines.

Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary, said:

Adding a green badge of honour to these new clean vehicles is a brilliant way of helping increase awareness of their growing popularity in the UK, and might just encourage people to think about how one could fit into their own travel routine.

The DfT hasn’t gone overboard with Photoshop to deliver up interesting alternatives, and all they’ve done is create the green number plate we’ve stuck on the front of a Jaguar I-Pace (above). But the whole consultation thing is also about deciding how the green number plates will look.

Better than this, we hope.