The Government has announced changes to its ‘Plug-in car grants’ that will target more affordable EVs and allow the fund to help more people.

The Plug-in Car Grants were announced to increase the population of EVs on the UK roads as we make the transition to a net-zero economy. Since then it has been used to incentivise the purchase of EVs by providing money back for helping reduce carbon emissions.

These grants have now been updated to specifically target more affordable EV models that will allow the average household to make the transition and allow the fund to help and reach more people. This means that subsidies will no longer be available for purchases of more expensive EV models, bought by drivers who do not require the fund.

The new specifications for the grant will provide up to £2,500 for EVs that are valued under £35,000. This is due to the statistics of EVs showing that, since 2019, the number of plug-in cars has increased almost 50% and over half of models available on the market will still be applicable for the grant, including larger family cars.

The number of models available to choose from will further increase in the future as vehicle manufactures dedicate all their line ups to have electricity plug-in functionality. Many of which will apply to the UK Government grants. This will be to contribute to the global net-zero efforts to cut emissions and become more sustainable.

Current Government measures also show to be encouraging the purchase of applicable vehicles as almost 11% of new vehicles purchases in the UK for 2020 had plug-in functionality. For comparison, this is up from the 3% figure seen in 2019. This is thanks to both manufactures that are producing new attractive models for customers and the Government grant making the cost more affordable. The figures for full battery electric vehicles have also nearly tripled in the same period which is also expected to grow during the release of new models from large manufactures.

Since its announcement in 2011, the grant has supported the purchase of over 285,000 ultra-low emission vehicles within the UK. The Government has dedicated over £1.3 billion to the fund in this period and in 2020 alone the budget was renewed to provide £582 million over the next 2-3 years.

Rachel Maclean, Transport Minister, said:

“The increasing choice of new vehicles, growing demand from customers and rapidly rising number of charge points mean that, while the level of funding remains as high as ever, given soaring demand, we are refocusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable zero-emission vehicles – where most consumers will be looking and where taxpayers’ money will make more of a difference.”

As the EV market develops the costs are expected to reduce which will allow even more households to make the transition alongside Government grants. Drivers will also be benefiting from advancements such as mileage per charge, speeds of charging and available charge points across the UK so that living with an electric car is made simple, easy and cost-effective.