UK government extends EV grant scheme

The UK government has announced that 13 car models will be added to the Electric Car Grant (ECG) scheme.

People purchasing the cars, made by Nissan, Renault and Vauxhall, will be able to save £1,500 through the grant.

Four models from Citroën are already eligible for a discount under the £650 million scheme which aims to make it cheaper and easier to own and electric vehicle (EV).

The discounts are applied automatically at the point of sale with no paperwork required from customers.

The government said the scheme is capped at cars costing up to £37,000 to target support at the most affordable options, adding that more models are expected to be approved in the coming weeks as manufacturers’ applications are assessed against the scheme’s sustainability standards.

In total, the government said it is investing £4.5 billion to facilitate the switch to EVs and aims to make the UK a “world-leader” in EV adoption.

The government says that Britain was Europe’s largest EV market in 2024, adding that sales are up almost a third so far this year.

The discounts are designed to bring down the price of models so they more closely match their petrol and diesel counterparts.

“With discounts on 17 car models announced this week alone, we’re delivering on our promise to make it easier and cheaper for families to go electric,” said transport secretary Heidi Alexander. “This is about backing drivers, putting money back into people’s pockets and creating the jobs and growth that will drive Britain forward, delivering on our Plan for Change.”

There are over 82,000 public charge points now available, with over 100,000 more set to be added in the coming years.

Last month, the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) said that more could be done to increase the sales of battery-operated electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK.

Sales of EVs in the UK rose by a third to 224,841 in the first half of the year, resulting in a market share of 21.6 per cent.

However, this is below the mandated 28 per cent for this year.

According to the survey of chief executives working in the industry carried out by SMMT, the insufficient EVs sales were down to a lack of charging incentives as well as fiscal disincentives such as the newly applied Expensive Car Supplement (ECS), which is estimated to impose an effective fine of more than £360 million on EVs bought from April in this year alone.