Electric Car Grant

There used to be an electric car grant in the UK of £1,500 for all EVs costing less than £32,000 – but now it’s gone!

What type of EV can get the electric car grant?

The £1,500 electric car grant was only payable on new Category 1 vehicles.

Category 1 vehicles are EVs with zero CO₂ emissions and a battery range of at least 70 miles.

Only pure 100% electric cars (BEVs) fell into Category 1 and met the PiCG grant criteria.

Plug-in hybrid electric cars (PHEVs) did not meet the Category 1 definition and so did not get the electric car grant.

Which EV models can get the electric car grant?

The UK government grant for electric cars last applied to the following EV models, though not for all trims levels:

• Fiat 500e
• Honda e
• Hyundai Kona Electric
• Mazda MX-30
• MG MG5 EV
• MG ZS EV
• Mini Electric
• Nissan Leaf
• Peugeot e-208
• Renault Zoe
• Smart EQ fortwo
• Smart EQ forfour
• Vauxhall Corsa-e
• Volkswagen e-up!
• Volkswagen ID.3

All these EVs could get the plug-in car grant because they

(a) could go at least 70 miles on a fully charged battery,

(b) emited zero grams of CO₂ per kilometre, and

(c) costed less than £32,000.

How did you apply for the plug-in car grant?

When you bought or leased a new Category 1 electric car costing less than £32,000, the grant of £1,500 was applied automatically by the dealer.

The dealer contacted the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and applied for the grant on your behalf. There was no paperwork for you to do at all.

Was the electric car grant £1,500 or 35%?

Technically, the government grant for electric cars was 35% of the list (RRP) price, with a maximum cap of £1,500.

If you could find a new EV for say £4,000 RRP, then the calculation would be £4,000 x 35% = £1,400 grant. That is of course less than £1,500.

The threshold is £4,285.71. Any new EVs under £4,285.71 would attract a grant of less than £1,500.

But, in reality, there are no electric cars priced anywhere near the £4,285.71 mark. The cheapest EVs at the moment are around £18-19,000 RRP.

Detailed eligibility criteria for the plug-in car grant

This section is a bit tedious and you can omit it if you like.

It covers the government’s actual eligibility criteria for the EV grant as laid out in their official web pages when the car grant scheme was in force:

Vehicle type

Only new cars are eligible (vehicle category ‘M1′). This includes pre-registration conversions (normal, internal combustion engine cars that were converted to battery or hybrid versions by specialist convertors before the car’s first registration). Motorbikes and quadricycles are not covered.

Carbon dioxide exhaust emissions

Vehicles must emit fewer than 50 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per kilometre driven.

Range

Vehicles must be able to travel a minimum of 70 miles with no emissions.

Minimum top speed

Vehicles must be able to reach a speed of 60 mph or more.

Warranty

Vehicles must have:

• either a minimum 5-year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard; or
• extra evidence of battery performance to show reasonable performance after 3 years of use.

Note: ‘drive train’ means the parts that send power from the engine to the wheels. These include the clutch, transmission (gear box), drive shafts, U-joints and differential.

Battery performance

Vehicles must have:

• either a minimum 5-year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard; or
• extra evidence of battery performance to show reasonable performance after 3 years of use.

Electrical safety

Vehicles must comply with certain regulations (UN-ECE Reg 100.00) that show that they are electrically safe.

Crash safety

To make sure cars will be safe in a crash, they must either have:

• European Commission Whole Vehicle Type-Approval (EC WVTA, not small series); or
• evidence that the car has appropriate levels of safety as judged by international standards.

Price

The car must cost less than £32,000.

For the full story, check out the official government page on Low-emission vehicles eligible for a plug-in grant.