Green Number Plates for Electric Cars are a ‘THING’ from today

Following an announcement earlier this year, ‘Green’ number plates for electric cars hit the road today to encourage EV take-up.

It’s over a year since the UK government asked for feedback on ‘Green’ number plates for electric cars in an effort to promote EV ownership and awareness.

That feedback was positive enough for ‘Green’ number plates to be given the go-ahead and, although the plan was to make them a thing from the autumn, today is actually ‘Green Number Plate Day’, when the first plates appear on the road.

The whole ‘Green’ number plate could be seen as a bit of a gimmick, designed to let the pious declare their goodness to the world as they quietly waft their smug grins round a polluted urban landscape. But there might be some good in it.

A similar scheme in Canada, where green number plates were trialled, saw an increase in EV sales as awareness rose, and it’s expected to make it easier for local authorities to introduce and police EV incentives too.

Nissan, as you would expect from the veteran EV specialists, has been busy doing a bit of survey on EV thoughts on the back of the green plate change, and have discovered that 32 per cent of consumers will be more likely to buy an EV because of the green number plates. Blimey.

They also discovered that 53 per cent were unaware of the financial benefits of running an EV (as opposed to buying one), much the same number had no idea many local authorities are planning low emission zones, and that 29 per cent of people were looking to cut their motoring costs this year.

Will the new ‘Green’ number plates (which aren’t compulsory for EVs) help persuade more to get in to an EV? If Nissan’s survey respondents are being honest, it seems they will.