Nobody ever accused the BMW C evolution electric scooter of being too cheap. In fact, sales in the UK have been tiny since its launch thanks to a superbike-sized £12,230 price tag for the base version.
Now that’s dropped by £1500 to a still-hefty £10,730 thanks to a government incentive scheme that subsidises electric bikes. In all, the UK government is ploughing £35 million into the incentive package to help cut the costs of zero-emissions vehicles. Of that, £3.75 million is earmarked for motorcycles and scooters. Electric bikes will be subsidised to the tune of 20% up to a maximum of £1500.
The government has also committed to increasing the number of charging points to make electric vehicle ownership more viable for more people.
Since the BMWs cost too much to get 20% off their prices, both versions of the BMW C evolution get the £1500 maximum discount. The base model is now £10,730 instead of £12,230 and the longer-range ‘Plus’ version is £12,000 instead of £13,500.
Transport Minister John Hayes said: “No matter what mode of transport you need – a scooter to get to work, a car or a van to run your business – we are here to help you do it with zero emissions.
“The number of ultra-low emission vehicles on our roads are at record levels and new registrations have risen by 250 per cent in just over two years.
“We are committing £35 million to help install new charge points and offer new grants as we aim for nearly all cars and vans on our roads to be zero emission by 2050.”
Other UK measures include up to £10 million funding for charge points outside workplaces and homes where there is no off-street parking and £2 million for organisations that use hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
