- New Renault and BMW models are now eligible for the maximum
£3,750 discount, with over 40,000 drivers benefitting from the
grant since its launch in July
- Follows an extra £1.5 billion announced at the Autumn Budget
to power up the UK's electric vehicle revolution, saving people
thousands and boosting the charging network
- Includes £1.3 billion for the Electric Car Grant, increasing
available funding and extending it to 2030, alongside £200m to
rollout more chargepoints nationwide
Drivers can save £3,750 off four more electric vehicles as the
top band of the Electric Car Grant (ECG) expands again today
(Wednesday 3 December) to include the BMW MINI Countryman and the
Renault 4, Renault 5 and Renault Alpine A290.
The expansion doubles the number of electric vehicles (EVs)
eligible for the maximum reduction under the grant, meaning
drivers can now get £3,750 off eight models across some of the
most popular brands.
The Government has also gone further to make it cheaper and
easier to choose electric with an extra £1.5 billion at the
Autumn Budget including £1.3 billion to increase available
funding and extend the ECG for a further year, meaning more
drivers will be able to save thousands when making the switch,
alongside £200 million to accelerate the rollout of chargepoints
across the country.
The grant is helping to tackle upfront costs – traditionally one
of the biggest barriers to EV uptake – and has already helped
over 40,000 drivers choose electric since its launch in July.
September and October saw record EV sales with one in four new cars sold
in the UK now being electric, whilst interest in some eligible
vehicles doubled.
Buyers can choose from some of the UK's best loved brands through
the grant, including Ford, Vauxhall, and Citroen, as well as
Nissan whose LEAF model is set to be built at the company's
Sunderland plant helping to boost jobs and
growth in the North East.
Transport Secretary, , said:
“Our Electric Car Grant has already supported over 40,000 drivers
to choose electric, and this latest expansion doubles the number
of models available for the top discount – putting thousands of
pounds back in more families' pockets.
“We're doubling down on our drive to help people buy EVs,
extending the grant to push down costs and boosting charging
access with a further £200 million to expand the charging network
across the UK.”
The additional £200m to support the rollout of more chargepoints
across the country will build on the £381 million to help
Councils deliver over 100,000 new public chargers.
This is on top of a £25m scheme
to make it easier for residents without driveways to install home
chargers, enabling them to access cheaper electricity rates and
charge up for as little as 2p per mile. The Government is
also making it easier for people to install home charging
solutions such as cross pavement charging with proposals to
cut red tape and removing
planning permission requirements. This could speed up
residents' applications and save drivers up to £250 in
application fees.
There are almost 87,000
chargers already live across the country, with the fastest
growth happening outside London in places like Yorkshire, Wales,
the West Midlands, and the East of England, and rural
chargepoints in England up 26% overall on the year.
The Government has also launched a review into the cost of public
electric vehicle charging, looking at the impact of energy
prices, wider cost contributors, and options for lowering these
costs for consumers.
Overall, the Government is investing £7.5bn to accelerate the
transition to electric and to maintain the UK's leading position
as having the largest EV share of
any major European market from January to October this year.
Ian Plummer, Chief Commercial Officer at Autotrader, the
UK's largest automotive marketplace, said:
“The Electric Car Grant is helping to make electric cars more
affordable for thousands of car buyers, which is vital if we are
to accelerate the rate of adoption. We can clearly
see the impact the Grant is already having on consumer interest,
with the number of people viewing grant eligible models on
Autotrader increasing by over 100% in some instances, so with the
addition of these news models to the scheme we will no doubt see
similar levels of interest.
“We're also pleased to hear that the government is trying to make
charging more accessible and cheaper for all. EVs enjoy
significant running cost benefits, but only when the cars can be
charged mainly on driveways or cheaper off street locations, so
this investment is vital to ensure no driver is left behind on
the journey to electric."
Notes to editors
- Please see the list of models eligible under the Electric Car
Grant here.
- Budget announcements here.
- The Chancellor also unveiled measures to drive EV adoption
including raising the Expensive Car Supplement threshold to £50k
for EVs, reducing the running cost of EVs priced between £40k and
£50k EVs and 10 years' business rates relief for eligible public
chargepoints, which will reduce the price of charging.
- See number of public chargepoints here.
- For more information, check out the Clean Energy Campaign:
https://cleanenergy.campaign.gov.uk/
