Drivers have less than a year to cash in on £4,500 plug-in car grant as toxic diesel taxes loom

BUYERS have less than a year to cash in on the £4,500 electric car discount with the plug-in grant due to end.

Ministers have only committed the money until March 2018 with no decision on if it will be extended into the future.

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And with a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel models from 2040 and the threat of extra taxes on diesels, many drivers will be considering switching to a pure-electric or plug-in hybrid model.

The grant was already slashed last year from £5,000 to as little as £2,500 for some hybrids.

And buyers need to act fast to snap up the best deal possible on an EV before the grant is lost.

The options on what you can buy with the grant has never been better, though, with models from Audi, VW, BMW joining cheaper cars from Kia, Toyota and Renault.

When quizzed on if the grant would be extended beyond March 2018, a Department for Transport spokesman told The Sun Online there was "currently no change to plans on the plug-in grant scheme".

The grant was first introduced in 2011 and due to expire in early 2016 but was extended with the revised terms.

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Vehicles with a zero-emission range of more than 70 miles, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, now get a full £4,500 grant, but hybrids costing under £60,000 receive £2,500.

Owners of electric vehicles can also net a £500 grant to install a dedicated charge point at their home, covering roughly half the average cost, to help ease the burden on the nation's small plug-in network.

The lack of charging points for owners is a problem echoed by the rest of the industry.

The Institute of the Motor Industry said the UK will fail to remove diesels and petrols and in turn improve air quality, if significant investment isn’t made to the number of charging stations.

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And Mike Hawes, chief executive of The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: "The anti-diesel sentiment has caused consumers to pause before buying a new car.

"The industry will continue to invest but it needs continued government support. A big obstacle is infrastructure."