May’s £106m drive to push green vehicles

New funding of more than £100m to develop low and zero-emission vehicles in the UK will be announced by Theresa May on Tuesday.

The prime minister will tell the Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Birmingham she wants Britain to be a leader in green technology.

The £106m funding boost will also cover research and development for new battery and hydrogen technology.

Mrs May is expected to say the Government has an “ambitious mission”.

“Our Road to Zero Strategy is the most comprehensive plan globally – mapping out in detail how we will reach our target for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero-emission by 2040,” she will say.

“These measures will drive the design, use, uptake and infrastructure necessary for cleaner, greener vehicles – and in doing so, it will help us drastically reduce a major contributor to our global warming emissions.”

Mrs May will also hold round-table talks on developing the zero-emissions market and attracting more foreign investment to the UK at the summit.

The talks will involve supply-chain companies from Germany, the US, Japan, China, Spain and India.

The government will also reveal an international initiative aimed at speeding up the deployment of green vehicles and introduction of zero-emission infrastructure.

The first signatories to the so-called “Birmingham deceleration” include Italy, France, Denmark, the UAE, Portugal, Belarus and Indonesia.

The summit will also be attended by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Business Secretary Greg Clark.