HARD-PRESSED taxpayers are footing a £4.5million government ad blitz encouraging people to buy costly electric cars.
And former Dragons’ Den multi-millionaire Sara Davies has been enlisted to promote the push on TikTok and Instagram.
The “Get That Electric Feeling” campaign splashes across TV, radio, billboards and social media urging motorists to switch to EVs.
Ministers say the push is designed to highlight the benefits of electric driving ahead of Labour’s 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
But the taxpayer-funded campaign was slammed as a “bribe” by the Tories.
Transport minister Keir Mather confirmed the advertising drive has a £4.56million budget for 2025-26 in a written Parliamentary Question answer.
Among those promoting the campaign is Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies, the craft entrepreneur who built the Crafter’s Companion business and is now a multi-millionaire TV investor.
Ms Davies posted a sponsored video about electric cars to her TikTok and Instagram accounts a few days ago.
In the clip, marked #AD, she tells followers: “Please give me 1 minute to talk to you about the journey I’ve been on with my electric car, in the hope that it might inspire others to seriously think about making the switch too.”
The Dragons’ Den star, who stepped down from the programme last year, said she initially worried about “range anxiety” but claimed switching had “fitted into my life seamlessly.”
She added: “I’m now firmly in the camp of the 9 out of 10 EV drivers who would say they recommend owning one.”
The ad blitz comes as electric car demand struggles to keep pace with government targets.
More than 90,000 new cars were registered last month – the strongest February since 2004.
But the share of fully electric vehicles slipped to 24.2 per cent, down from 25.3 per cent a year earlier.
Manufacturers warn the figures show demand is still well below the government’s target for EVs to make up a third of sales.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden blasted the spending, telling The Sun: “Labour are wasting millions of pounds trying to convince drivers to buy electric cars they don’t want – including handing taxpayers’ cash to a multi-millionaire influencer!
“If EVs truly sold themselves, Labour would not need a £4.5 million advertising campaign to push them – or over £1 billion in taxpayer subsidies to try and bribe people with their own money to buy them.
“The Conservatives are clear that the future should be drivetrain neutral. We will end top-down mandates and let innovation, competition and consumer choice decide what people drive.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “By encouraging EV uptake, we’re helping motorists cut costs – with grants of up to £3,750 off a new electric car and savings of around £1,400 a year on running costs.
“Many EV drivers pay as little as 2p per mile, and this campaign helps people make informed choices about switching and putting money back in their pockets.”
