The Government has announced the first nine electric cars for which drivers will be eligible for a 25% Whitehall-paid grant.

Five more regions that will be installing recharging points were also announced by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

From January 1 2011, motorists buying the first three of the named electric cars will get 25% off, up to a maximum of £5,000.

The first three cars are the Mitsubishi iMiEV, the Mercedes-Benz smart fortwo ED and the Peugeot iON.

The 25% reduction will also apply to the other six cars as they become part of the scheme over the next few months.

The Citroen CZero will be available in early 2011, while the Nissan Leaf and the Tata Vista EV will be available in March 2011. Available from early 2012 will be the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the Vauxhall Ampera - which will cost £28,995 even with the £5,000 grant - and the Chevrolet Volt. More will follow next year.

The new regions installing local charging points and which have successfully bid for a share of a £20 million fund, are the east of England, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The east of England charging points include Stansted airport, Cambridge, Norwich and Ipswich. The Midlands points include Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham and Worcester, while Scottish points include Edinburgh and central Glasgow.

Mr Hammond said: "A few years ago, ultra-low emission cars with mass-market appeal appeared just a pipe dream. Now they are a reality and we can have all the convenience of the car without the carbon that normally goes with it."

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "We support the Government grant. While this makes ultra-green cars cheaper, it doesn't make them cheap.

"The £43m being made available until early 2012 means at least 8,600 will benefit from the subsidy, though this has to be put into the context of the 28 million cars in the UK and annual new car sales of around two million.

"Clearly we are still a long way from an affordable mass market for these vehicles, but this is a very welcome step in the right direction."