It’s over two weeks since the government’s surprise EV grant went live, yet there are still no cars listed on the official government website as being available with grant money applied to the list price.
However, car makers are jumping in with their own ‘EV grants’ to avoid a stall in EV sales while car buyers wait to find out which cars are eligible for the government grants.
The electric car grant was announced on Monday 14 July and went live on Wednesday 16 July. Car makers must apply for the grants, which are available on EVs up to the price of £37,000 and where car makers have signed up to low-carbon ‘science-based targets’ around manufacturing. Grants of between £1,500 and £3,750 will be available for eligible cars.
While the announcement of the EV grant has been broadly welcomed by car makers, it took many of them by surprise, with some learning about the government plan via the media.
One car company executive, speaking anonymously to The Independent, also confirmed that dealers were reporting customers cancelling orders until it was clear which cars were and weren’t eligible for grants.
Smart is the latest car company to offer its own ‘EV grant’ with £1,500 off the whole range of Smart #1 and #3, in addition to existing incentives. That means you could save a total of £3,500 off a Smart #1, for example.
Earlier this week, Volvo introduced a discount in lieu of any government grant. with £1,500 off any of the brand’s EX30 electric models, even those that cost over the £37,000 limit for government grants.
Hyundai is also offering its own electric grant, with the biggest discount available on Hyundai’s smallest model. The Hyundai Inster – recently voted World Electric Car of the Year – gets a £3,750 ‘grant’ bringing the entry-level car’s price down to £19,755. There’s still an additional £500 off if you go for Hyundai’s low-rate PCP finance, too.
The rest of the Hyundai electric car range, including models over £37,000, are also getting a £1,500 discount as part of the offer.
Buyers of Chinese-made EVs were also left to reconsider their purchases with news that the government wasn’t expecting those models to be eligible for the Electric Car Grant.
Speaking on Radio Four, Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said “we don’t expect any cars that are assembled in China to be eligible for this scheme.
“The grant is restricted to those manufacturers that reach minimum environmental standards. And, frankly, if you generate a lot of the electricity that powers your factory through coal power stations, then you are not going to be able to access this grant.”
The Department for Transport told The Independent: “We expect dozens of models will be eligible but manufacturers will need to apply for the grant before we can confirm eligibility. We have held multiple calls with vehicle manufacturers to explain vehicle eligibility and how to apply for the grant. These discussions will continue to ensure manufacturers have all the information they need.
“All eligible models will be published on Gov.uk once the application has been approved. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis and as quickly as possible.”
Chinese car brands have been quick to react by introducing their own ‘EV grants’ to stimulate demand among private buyers. Leapmotor was first out of the blocks with its Leap Grant, offering £1,500 off the Leapmotor T03, making it Britain’s cheapest car at £14,495, while the Leapmotor C10 family SUV gets a £3,750 discount, taking the price down to £32,750.
MG followed with its own EV grant, offering a discount of £1,500 off the MG4 and MGS5 EVs on top of existing offers, while another Chinese brand, GWM, has taken the full £3,750 off its GWM ORA 03 models with its Green Grant, bringing the starting price down to £21,245.
Relatively unknown Chinese brand Skywell is also throwing its own EV grant of £3,750 on top of a £6,000 dealer deposit contribution if you buy the Skywell BE11 on finance. That brings the potential list price down to just £27,245 for the entry-level car. The BE11 is far from the best EV you can buy, but at that price it represents a lot of car for the money.
It’s not just Chinese brands applying discounts, though. Alfa Romeo is offering £1,500 off its Alfa Junior Elettrica range, on top of existing zero per cent finance offers and the promise of a free EV home charger with standard installation.
We’ll update this story regularly as more news on cars eligible for the EV grant breaks, or we hear of more discounts from car makers on their electric cars.
