- Plug-in Car Grant: background and how it’s fallen from £5000 per EV to nothing
- Which cars qualified for the Plug-in Car Grant subsidy before its withdrawal?
Electric car grants: how they work
BMW i3 – qualifies for the Plug-in Car Grant
Hyundai Kona Electric – qualifies for the Plug-in Car Grant
Renault Zoe – qualifies for the Plug-in Car Grant
The UK’s Plug-in Car Grant has been cut to £2500 per eligible vehicle
► Government cuts £3000 incentive on EVs► Plug-in Car Grant reduced to £2500
► Cars above £35,000 now aren’t covered
The UK government has announced the withdrawal of the Plug-in Car Grant to all new EV orders as of 14 June 2022.
After years of the grant being incrementally reduced, the UK government says it will now focus its attention on charging infrastructure instead. Transport minister Trudy Harrison has praised the grant’s success in ‘kickstarting the electric car market,’ but adds that ‘government funding must always be invested where it has the highest impact if that success story is to continue.’
The complete withdrawal means that any new car orders on or after 14 June 2022 will no longer have access to apply for the grant. Any orders currently under way will still receive the money-off incentive. The UK government says that the lower running costs of EVs far outweighs the £1500 grant seen in the last few months of its active life.
Upon the withdrawal of the grant, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: ‘The decision to scrap the Plug-in Car grant sends the wrong message to motorists and to an industry which remains committed to Government’s net zero ambition – we are now the only major European market to have zero upfront purchase incentives for EV car buyers yet the most ambitious plans for uptake. This decision comes at the worst possible time.’
Plug-in Car Grant: background and how it’s fallen from £5000 per EV to nothing
British motorists had benefited from a scheme called the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) to encourage the take-up of electric cars since 2011. The financial incentives arrived around the same time as the first-generation Nissan Leaf – an electric car that broke new ground by being everyday-usable in an era when most electric cars were still something of a joke – and provided a £5000 cash discount off the list price of any qualifying vehicle.
The incentive was launched primarily to reduce emissions and improve air quality through increased take-up of zero-emissions vehicles (EVs and plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs). The UK government said that the grant influenced the sale of more than 100,000 EVs in the first five months of 2022 before it was scrapped.
If you purchased an eligible car, the dealer would sort out all of the paperwork and the grant was be deducted from the car’s list price. The PiCG only applieed to new purchases – it wasn’t possible to get cash off the price of a used vehicle.
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The government revised the PiCG in 2016, 2018, 2020 and again in March 2021, reducing the number of cars covered by the grant as well as the amount of money offered. In 2016, the amount offered was reduced from £5000 to £4500 (or £2500 for plug-in hybrids) before reducing further in 2018, with EVs then receiving a grant of £3500. That was the point at which PHEVs were no longer eligible for the grant.
Then in the spring 2020 Budget, this was further reduced to £3000 – and it was adjusted twice again to £2500 then £1500 over the course of 2021. The logic being, if you could afford a super-duper top-end EV, taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be used to subsidise you.
Which cars qualified for the Plug-in Car Grant subsidy before its withdrawal?
- Citroen ë-C4 – Sense Plus
- Citroen ë-C4 – Shine
- DS 3 Crossback E-Tense – Prestige
- DS 3 Crossback E-Tense – Performance Line
- Honda E
- Hyundai Ioniq Electric – Premium
- Hyundai Kona Electric (39kWh) – SE Connect
- Hyundai Kona Electric (39kWh) – Premium
- Kia e-Niro (39kWh) – 2
- Mazda MX-30
- MG MG5 EV
- MG ZS EV
- Mini Electric – Level 1
- Mini Electric – Level 2
- Mini Electric – Level 3
- Nissan e-NV200 (5 seater) – Visia
- Nissan e-NV200 (7 seater) – Visia
- Nissan Leaf (40kWh) – Acenta
- Nissan Leaf (40kWh) – N-Connecta
- Nissan Leaf (40kWh) – Tekna
- Peugeot e-208
- Peugeot e-2008 – Active Premium
- Peugeot e-2008 – Allure
- Renault Zoe
- SEAT Mii electric
- Skoda Citigo-e iV
- Skoda Enyaq iV 60 Nav – Loft
- Skoda Enyaq iV 60 Nav – Lodge
- Smart EQ ForTwo
- Smart EQ ForFour
- Vauxhall Corsa-e
- Vauxhall Mokka-e – SE Nav Premium
- Volkswagen e-Golf
- Volkswagen e-Up
- Volkswagen ID.3 Pro (58kWh 145PS) – Life
- Volkswagen ID.3 Pro Performance (58kWh 204PS) – Life
- Where to charge in the UK? An EV guide
- Tesla Superchargers: what you need to know
- A guide to Volkswagen’s electric cars
- A guide to Audi’s electric cars
Keyword: UK Government scraps Plug-in Car Grant