- UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has told The Telegraph that the government will this week announce the return of purchase grants for new electric vehicles, helping to make the EV transition even more accessible.
- If confirmed, this will mark the return of the Plug-in Car Grant for the UK, which was previous discontinued, arguably prematurely, back in 2022.
- The news adds to what is already the most significant week for the UK’s EV industry in months, with other announcements including a £63 million EV charging fund, and a £2.5 billion programme to support domestic EV manufacturing.
The UK is reportedly bringing back grants for new electric car purchases
Such return of a scheme would mirror the UK’s original Plug-in Car Grant, discontinued back in 2022. At the time of its ending, that programme offered up to £1,500 off the price of a new electric car, but it remains to be seen what level of discount we’ll see from this new rumoured scheme.
The Telegraph’s report also claims that the grant will focus on more affordable models, with luxury-oriented, higher-price EVs being excluded from the grant. Further supplementing the government’s plan to make the UK an EV manufacturing powerhouse, the discount will also be favourable towards electric vehicles manufactured in the UK – such as the three upcoming Nissan EVs set to be produced at its Sunderland plant, including the recently revealed third-generation Nissan Leaf.
If confirmed, these new purchase incentives would be a move welcomed right across the industry, and could help make the cheapest electric cars even more affordable. Just last week, a joint industry letter warned that the used EV market could become unsustainable without incentives for those purchasing electric cars from new – and this rumoured grant could do just the trick. It also comes as the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is less than five years away.
