Budget 2017: Phillip Hammond to spend hundreds of millions to make cars drive themselves
Someone – I don’t go all the way with them on their analysis, said all rural challenges are about access issues. Notwithstanding my reservations in that regard I am optimistic about the future potential of electric cars and there fore happy to see this in the budget. This story tells us:
The Government is to spend hundreds of millions of pounds encouraging people to make electric cars that drive themselves.
It will spend huge amounts of money to try and incentivise electric vehicles. Then eventually those cars will start driving themselves around the country – with Chancellor Philip Hammond backing a plan to have them making their own way by 2021.
Jeremy Corbyn used the news about driverless vehicles to joke about having tested “backseat driving” in the Government, which has been bitterly divided before the Budget.
Mr Hammond said the technology was being introduced because the Government saw it as the future. “Some may choose to reject the future, we choose to embrace it,” he said.
The Government will spend £400m on a new charging-infrastructure fund, an extra £100m on the plug-in vehicle grant, and £40m for research into charging.
“I know Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t like them, but there are many other good reasons to pursue this technology so today we step up our support for it,” Mr Hammond joked as he unveiled the new Budget. “Sorry Jeremy, not the first time you’ve been snubbed by Hammond and May.”
The technology-and-automotive companies that are looking to bring driverless vehicles to the roads backed the plan, arguing that it is about to completely change the way that vehicles make their way around the streets.