{"id":305726,"date":"2024-03-04T10:55:30","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T09:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=305726"},"modified":"2024-03-04T10:55:32","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T09:55:32","slug":"uks-400m-electric-bus-scheme-accused-of-subsidising-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=305726","title":{"rendered":"UK\u2019s \u00a3400m electric bus scheme accused of \u2018subsidising China\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British manufacturers say current scheme is slowing net zero transition.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a3400m scheme set up to encourage the rollout of electric buses is effectively subsidising Chinese companies<\/a> to the detriment of British ones, a group of transport businesses have claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the so-called Zebra initiative, local authorities and bus operators can apply for grant funding to support the purchase of zero-emission buses. The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is part of the \u2018bus back better\u2019 plan unveiled by the Government during the pandemic and aims to finance the purchase of 4,000 buses, accounting for around one-tenth of Britain\u2019s total fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some companies have complained that the bidding rules exclude projects to convert existing petrol or diesel-fueled buses into electric ones \u2013 while aiding purchases of vehicles that depend on Chinese manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses such as Sheffield-based Magtec, Scarborough-based Kleanbus and Norfolk-based Equipmake argue that converting existing diesel buses \u2013 a method known as \u2018repowering\u2019 \u2013 is a greener alternative than buying new vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they say the Government\u2019s grant scheme currently incentivises new bus purchases instead of repowering, effectively distorting the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, about 70pc of electric buses being purchased in the UK are Chinese-manufactured or\u00a0contain Chinese-made components<\/a>\u00a0such as batteries, according to an analysis of official figures by Magtec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the most common bus model registered in Britain now is the Enviro bus, which is built by Shenzhen-based BYD<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Magtec and others say operators and local authorities should also be allowed to receive grant funding for repowering. A scheme comparable to Zebra already allows for this in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing so would also speed up the transition to electric buses overall, they argue, boosting the number that come into service each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a3400m scheme set up to encourage the rollout of electric buses is effectively\u00a0subsidising Chinese companies\u00a0to the detriment of British ones, a group of transport businesses have claimed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":305730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"A\u00a3400m scheme set up to encourage the rollout of electric buses is effectively\u00a0subsidising Chinese companies\u00a0to the detriment of British ones, a group of transport businesses have claimed.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691827374,691818154,691827384,691827383],"class_list":["post-305726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-chinese-manufacturers","tag-net-zero","tag-shenzhen-based-byd","tag-transport-and-industry","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1hx4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":411320,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411320","url_meta":{"origin":305726,"position":0},"title":"This city bought 300 Chinese electric buses \u2014 but China can turn them off at will","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Some cities have gone all-in on their dedication to renewable energy and electric public transportation but discovering that a jurisdiction does not actually control its own public property likely was not part of the idea.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQOImGUsAPHcEw1x_7IrmR0VZZIHSXeQUu7FybAoCJDwL0FqP6XfKa5yb7xwuBGPvUhUQ4YMSM9xfddyimKH1R8k2N89yNhLOK4s-3ckWkvkt0h8vbbQQNJV7l_EolyR-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQOImGUsAPHcEw1x_7IrmR0VZZIHSXeQUu7FybAoCJDwL0FqP6XfKa5yb7xwuBGPvUhUQ4YMSM9xfddyimKH1R8k2N89yNhLOK4s-3ckWkvkt0h8vbbQQNJV7l_EolyR-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C598&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQOImGUsAPHcEw1x_7IrmR0VZZIHSXeQUu7FybAoCJDwL0FqP6XfKa5yb7xwuBGPvUhUQ4YMSM9xfddyimKH1R8k2N89yNhLOK4s-3ckWkvkt0h8vbbQQNJV7l_EolyR-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C598&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQOImGUsAPHcEw1x_7IrmR0VZZIHSXeQUu7FybAoCJDwL0FqP6XfKa5yb7xwuBGPvUhUQ4YMSM9xfddyimKH1R8k2N89yNhLOK4s-3ckWkvkt0h8vbbQQNJV7l_EolyR-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C598&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQOImGUsAPHcEw1x_7IrmR0VZZIHSXeQUu7FybAoCJDwL0FqP6XfKa5yb7xwuBGPvUhUQ4YMSM9xfddyimKH1R8k2N89yNhLOK4s-3ckWkvkt0h8vbbQQNJV7l_EolyR-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C598&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":413154,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=413154","url_meta":{"origin":305726,"position":1},"title":"Ed Miliband\u2019s net zero quest has become a national security\u00a0threat","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/13\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Ben Marlow is a bit late to the game. 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