Minister of State for Transport Sadiq Khan is the government's chief spokesperson in the Commons on transport matters and leads the DfT's initiatives tackling environment and climate change. He's also the son of a London bus driver and a self-confessed former boy racer who used to own a Fiesta XR2.
Clean Green Cars interviewed him to discover what the government is doing to help the development of electric cars and alternative fuels.
If the car companies get back on their feet after the recession and no longer need the help of the Automotive Assistance Programme (the government's green support package for the motor industry), how will the government continue to guide their R&D towards low-carbon vehicle solutions?
We appreciate that when new technologies are beginning there's a huge start-up cost and so there's only so much R&D the private sector can do. Of course they should be doing the R&D - and they do - but we have to be realistic about it and offer as much help as we can. The private sector is innovative, but we've got to face the fact that these are difficult times. An obvious part of the budget to cut is R&D, so we've got to appreciate that we've got a role to play in stimulating the market.
The government is planning to subsidise buyers of electric cars from 2011. How will that scheme work?
Once the new generation of [electric] cars comes on-stream - the manufacturers tell us 2011 is realistic - we've set aside £250m worth of money. If a consumer wants to buy an electric car or plug-in hybrid, we'll give you between £2,000 and £5,000, which will hopefully give you the up-front money that will encourage you to buy from the manufacturers. How much money you receive will depend on the car you purchase. It will also depend on what technology is involved [in the car] and what benefits it will come up with.
