Government axes plug-in car grant to boost funding for electric vans and trucks

The Government's plug-in car grant scheme has been axed with the funding refocused towards extending plug-in grants for new electric vans and trucks and supporting the roll out of the public chargepoint network.

The move, announced with immediate effect from today (14 June), is supported by a new public evaluation report which highlights that, while the plug-in car grant was vital in building the early market for EVs, it has since been having less of an effect on demand, with other existing price incentives, such as company car tax, continuing to have an important impact.

The report also found the plug-in van and truck market will benefit more from grant incentives, by supporting businesses and their fleets in making the switch.  The plug-in grant for vans and trucks will run until at least 2024/25, the DfT has confirmed.

Since its inception in 2011, the government’s plug-in car grant has provided over £1.4bn and supported the purchase of nearly half a million clean vehicles. In March 2022 new EV registrations stood at 39,000 - more than the whole of 2019.

Read more

• Government extends plug-in van and truck grants for two years to 2025
• Cut to plug-in grant ‘a blow for commercial vehicle sector’, says BVRLA
• Industry joins with National Grid to propose low cost, rapid roll-out of charging infrastructure

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: "The Government continues to invest record amounts in the transition to EVs, with £2.5bn injected since 2020, and has set the most ambitious phase-out dates for new diesel and petrol sales of any major country. But Government funding must always be invested where it has the highest impact if that success story is to continue.

"Having successfully kickstarted the electric car market, we now want to use plug-in grants to match that success across other vehicle types, from taxis to delivery vans and everything in between, to help make the switch to zero emission travel cheaper and easier.

"With billions of both Government and industry investment continuing to be pumped into the UK's electric revolution, the sale of electric vehicles is soaring. We are continuing to lead the way in decarbonising transport, with generous Government incentives still in place, while creating high skilled jobs and cleaner air across the UK."

In March this year the government’s plug-in van and truck grants was extended for another two years to spring 2025 and changes were made to plug-in vehicle grants to allow operators to apply for funding for larger trucks.

From 1 April 2022, the threshold to claim the small truck grant of up to £16,000 was increased from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes. Vans up to 4.25 tonnesare also now able to claim the large van grant of up to £5,000.