Plug-in car prices to soar by thousands of pounds as Government axes grant
Hybrid cars will no longer be eligible for the grant, while electric cars with a range of at least 70 miles will receive a reduced subsidy
PRICES will surge for electric and hybrid cars as Government grants have been axed for the latter and reduced by £1,000 for purely electric motors.
The autos industry now fears that sales of alternatively-fuelled motors will crash.
Changes were due to take place on November 9, but the Government brought the date forward to October 21 due to a spike in plug-in sales.
The grants have been in place since 2011 and were incentives for car buyers to go green as the Government pushes its low-emissions agenda.
Qualifying vehicles had the discount automatically applied by retailers for further encouragement and ease for potential customers.
Over 160,000 car purchases have been aided by the funding since its start – 100,000 of which were hybrid cars.
Plug-in car grant changes
- You do not need to apply for a government grant when buying a new electric car – the dealer includes the value in its price.
- There were three categories cars fell into depending on their CO2 emissions, as well as separate lists for vans, motorbikes, taxis and mopeds.
- Cat 1 – have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km (70 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all. The grant paid for 35 per cent of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of £4,500 – this has now been reduced to £3,500.
- Cat 2 – have CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 16km (10 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all. The grant paid for 35 per cent of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of £2,500 – this is no longer available.
- Cat 3 – have CO2 emissions of 50 to 75g/km and can travel at least 32km (20 miles) without any CO2 emissions at all. The grant paid for 35 per cent of the purchase price for this vehicle, up to a maximum of £2,500 – this is no longer available.
- Cars that cost over £60,000 and fall into Category 2 or 3 were not eligible for the grant.
- Further information can be found on the Government’s .
Around £124million had been budgeted for the grants in 2018-19 and a further £96million for the next financial year.
The number of alternatively-fuelled cars in the UK rose by a whopping 44 per cent in Q2 this year, with 36,000 registered between April and June.
Despite this, it was also recently revealed that three quarters of Brits are not aware of the government grant at all.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), said: “We understand the pressure on the public purse, but given the importance of environmental goals, it’s astounding that just three months after publishing its road to zero strategy, Government has reduced the incentive that gives consumers most encouragement to invest in ultra low emission vehicles.
“Removing the grant for plug-in hybrids is totally at odds with already challenging ambitions for CO2 reduction and sends yet more confusing signals to car buyers.”
Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of road policy, said: “This announcement will simply put more drivers off from buying greener cars.
“Rather than give consumers excuses to shy away from the greenest possible option, Government needs to provide reasons and incentives to convince drivers hybrid and electric cars are the way forward.
“At a time when air quality is of great concern, those who bought diesels in good faith, and with Government encouragement, will feel they have been given the cold shoulder rather than a helping hand.”