Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of the plug-in car grant on the number of sales of zero emission-capable plug-in hybrids since that grant was removed.

The plug-in car grant was intended to support the early market for low emission vehicles and has so far supported the purchase of around 100,000 plug-in hybrid cars, at a cost of over £360 million.

In 2018 the Department reviewed the plug-in car grant to focus on zero tail pipe emission vehicles. Since then, overall sales of alternatively fueled vehicles have increased compared to the same period last year. While the sales of zero emission capable plug-in hybrids have decreased since the grant was reviewed, the sales of the cleanest zero emission vehicles have increased by over 50 per cent over the same period.