The government has announced a long-term extension to the plug-in car grant, but the maximum amount available has fallen from £5,000 to £4,500.
First introduced in 2011, the plug-in car grant will now extend until at least the end of March 2018, which is expected to benefit around 100,000 consumers, double the number who have bought a plug-in car so far.
From March 2016 there will be two levels of grant offered, with cars capable of a zero-emission (ZE) range of more than 70 miles (named as Category 1) qualifying for £4,500, while cars with a shorter ZE range (Category 2 and 3) will be eligible for £2,500.
This means the UK’s most popular plug-in hybrid, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, will have its grant halved as its EV range of 32 miles will place it outside ‘Category 1’.
Electric-only models including the Renault ZOE, Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model S comfortably have an EV range of more than 70 miles, so will be classed as ‘Category 1’ and will receive a grant of £4,500, a £500 reduction.
A price cap has also been introduced “To encourage zero emission vehicles and maximise the number of everyday motorists who can benefit”, which states ‘Category 2 and 3’ models with a list price of over £60,000 will not be eligible for a grant after March 1 2016.
Vehicles no longer eligible as a result of this price cap will include luxury hybrid models like the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Lexus LS 600h and BMW i8.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “We are determined to keep Britain at the forefront of the technology, increasing our support for plug-in vehicles to £600 million over the next 5 years to cut emissions, create jobs and support our cutting-edge industries.”
Nissan GB Managing Director, Jim Wright, commented: “Today’s decision by government has reaffirmed their commitment to the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.
“With government support and Nissan’s investment of over £420 million into electric vehicles in the UK, our British made Nissan LEAF has increased in popularity with many UK customers already enjoying the benefits of zero emission and low cost driving. This announcement, together with ongoing infrastructure developments, should see the growth and wider deployment of this technology continue.”
The government also confirmed it will continue to support the installation of a dedicated home charging point, with £500 offered per installation to low emission vehicle owners from March 1 2016. This is around half the average cost of fitting, and allows vehicles to be charged much more quickly than from a 13-amp wall socket.
