The Government has officially scrapped the plug-in car grant, which was worth up to £1,500 off an electric vehicle…
Plug-In Car Grant Scrapped
The Government has scrapped the plug-in car grant, with immediate effect. However, cars sold during the two working days prior to the announcement, and where dealerships hadn’t submitted requests for the grant, will still be eligible.
The grant was first introduced back in 2010 and, initially, offered up to £5,000 off a car with CO2 emissions of less than 75g/km. Over the years, the amount of money made available was steadily reduced; and the eligibility criteria was narrowed.
Nevertheless, the plug-in car grant did help to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. There were less than 1,000 fully electric vehicles on the nation’s roads in 2010. Today, there are around 100,000.
Trudy Harrison explained the Government’s decision to scrap the grant. She said, “the Government continues to invest record amounts in the transition to EVs; with £2.5 billion injected since 2020, and has set the most ambitious phase-out dates for new diesel and petrol sales of any major country. But Government funding must always be invested where it has the highest impact if that success story is to continue”.
She continued, “having successfully kickstarted the electric car market, we now want to use plug-in grants to match that success across other vehicle types; from taxis to delivery vans and everything in between. To help make the switch to zero emission travel cheaper and easier”.
A ‘Symbolic Moment’?
Toby Poston, speaking for the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), has mixed feelings about the decision. He’s stressed that funding should be prioritised where it’s needed most, but has reservations about the timing of the move.
He explained, “although the grant was small and only a handful of EVs were eligible, its withdrawal will be a symbolic moment that could damage confidence in the fragile EV market. Most demand for EVs is being driven by the favourable benefit-in-kind tax rates; available to workers in company car or salary sacrifice schemes”.
He added, “as inflation surges and business and consumer confidence falls, Government needs to maintain these incentives if the country is to have any chance of hitting its ambitious decarbonisation targets”.
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