The Government has recently announced that they will be cutting the plug-in car grant. Consumers can now claim a maximum of £1,500 off (a drop of a £1,000 from the previous rate) on eligible vehicles costing 3k – 32k or less. These changes have been made to allow funding to go further and support more affordable vehicles; around 20 new models are now eligible under the updated scheme, with wheelchair-accessible cars continuing to benefit from a £2,500 maximum rate on cars costing up to £35,000.
The grant is only available for electric cars that have a range of 70 miles or more, and CO2 emissions below 50g/per km. There are currently no plug-in hybrid models on the market that fit these criteria, so cannot technically apply.
The plug-in van grant has also faced cuts, with the grant now offering £5,000 off purchase price for large vans at 2-3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW) and £2,500 for smaller models up to 2.5 tonnes GVW (limit of 1,000 customers per year). For Plug-in motorcycle owners, you can benefit from a maximum of £500 off vehicle purchase price and £150 for mopeds.
*There are currently no changes to grant rates for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
Transport minister Trudy Harrison has said: “The market is charging ahead in the switch to electric vehicles. This, together with the increasing choice of new vehicles and growing demand from customers, means that we are refocusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable vehicles and reducing grant rates to allow more people to benefit, and enable taxpayers’ money to go further.
We want as many people as possible to be able to make the switch to an electric vehicle, which is why we will also be introducing new rules to make it easier to find and pay at charge points. This will ensure drivers have confidence in our charging infrastructure, as we look to reduce our carbon emissions, create green jobs and level up right across the UK.”