Scotland Launches New Electric-Car Incentive: Interest-Free Loans To Buy

Incentives to purchase zero-emission cars come in a wild variety of types, from California's rebates--essentially a four-figure check in the mail--to single-occupant access to carpool lanes.

The U.S. government has a Federal income-tax credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for purchase of a plug-in car that varies with the car's battery pack size.

Now Scotland has offered one that we've not seen before--though if you have, please let us know.

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The country's Energy Saving Trust is offering its citizens interest-free loans to buy electric cars, as detailed by Click Green (via ChargedEVs).

Funded by Transport Scotland as part of the "Switched On Scotland" policy roadmap, the loan can be for the entire purchase price of the vehicle, up to a maximum of £50,000 (about $77,0000) or £100,000 for businesses.

"Electric cars cost around 3p per mile to run, compared with around 15p per mile for the average petrol car, and incur no road tax," said Harry Mayers of the Energy Saving Trust.