Government cuts plug-in grants

The government has announced a cut in grants available to consumers switching to plug-in vehicles.

From today grants will be limited to £2,500 instead of £3,000, and only available to cars costing less than £35,000 instead of £50,000.

The move has angered the automotive industry, which has been set a deadline of 2030 to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The decision to slash the Plug-in Car Grant and Van and Truck Grant is the wrong move at the wrong time. New battery electric technology is more expensive than conventional engines and incentives are essential in making these vehicles affordable to the customer.

“Cutting the grant and eligibility moves the UK even further behind other markets, markets which are increasing their support, making it yet more difficult for the UK to get sufficient supply. This sends the wrong message to the consumer, especially private customers, and to an industry challenged to meet the Government’s ambition to be a world leader in the transition to zero emission mobility.”

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “Given the surge in battery electric vehicle adoption, it makes sense for the government to reconsider where and how it uses grants and incentives, but today’s move is poorly timed and will slow down the transition to zero emission motoring.

Confidence in electric vehicles and their running costs is fragile, so slashing the grants and eligibility criteria will put a brake on the fantastic market momentum we have seen in recent months. This will come as a particular blow for the commercial vehicle sector, where BVRLA members have been working so hard to drive uptake of electric vans and trucks. Coming just months before the COP 26 summit and as other countries are increasing their zero emission subsidies, this move could also have a big impact on the supply of electric vehicles coming into the UK.”