electric cars can now be fitted with green number plates, with both old and new EVs able to display the plates.
The first driver to get a green plate fitted was transport secretary grant Shapps, who had a Tesla model 3 adorned with the eco-conscious-signalling registration mark. Shapps said: “Green number plates will help increase awareness of cleaner cars on our roads, demonstrating that a much more environmentally friendly transport future is within our grasp.”
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The green strip for EV number plates was announced in June by Shapps, to both even more raise the profile of battery-powered cars, and pave the way for possible incentive schemes to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles. The plates have been available since Tuesday 8 December 2020.
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Rather than being a fully green plate, EVs will have conventional white and yellow plates on their front and rear, but the plates will feature a green vertical flash on their left-hand side.
The green plates are being spearheaded by the department for transport (DfT) ahead of a ban on the sale of new conventional internal-combustion engined cars from 2030, and the UK’s objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
The plates will make it simpler to identify electric cars, enabling local authorities to design and execute new policies that will encourage much more people into them, such as less expensive parking and totally free entry into clean air zones.