Major news of late has been the various Government incentives for motorists to buy new cars. These schemes include cash bonuses to scrap an old car in favour of a newer, greener model and money towards switching the traditional internal combustion engine for a fancy new electric car. Let’s take a look at the details.

Scrap Your Old Car and Receive £2000

The car scrappage plan released in April is planned to cost the Government over £300,000,000. But, will help provide a much needed boost to the car industry with thoughts of up to a 40% rise in new car sales, and will be a great step towards a more environmentally friendly Britain with older, more polluting cars being exchanged for newer, greener models.

The plan is due to start in May 2009 and run until March 2010. Anyone looking to purchase a new car should be able to find out more information at their local car dealership. You will need to provide proof of the car’s age and prove that your car has been owned for at least one year. Following which the Government and dealership will each donate £1000 towards the new car cost.

Buy an Electric Car and Receive £5000

Another new incentive offered by the Government is aimed towards bringing a fleet of electric cars onto Britain’s roads. The scheme is thought to help reduce Co2 emissions by 26% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, with 35% of current carbon emissions being caused by domestic transport.

With electric cars typically being a higher upfront cost the scheme aims to help the customer cover this initial hurdle, after which running costs are said to be much lower.

However, a report by the Telegraph highlights what could be a major safety problem with the current small range of electric cars available. Models such as the G-Wiz are so small in size and weight, they do not have to meet the safety standards of normal cars, making them fair much worse in the average 40mph crash test.