News: Electric Car Grants End As Half of New Cars Sold in UK are Electric

The UK Government has today (14th June 2022) announced that grants for Plug-in Electric Vehicles have now ended with immediate effect.

The UK electric vehicle grant scheme was established back in 2011 and since then has provided £1.4 billion and supported the purchase of nearly half a million electric vehicles.

The grant has had various stipulations through the years, aimed at starting an “electric vehicle revolution”. Its most recent criteria saw new electric vehicles valued at under £32,000 receive a grant of £1500 to subsidise the purchase or finance price of the car. 

Owing to the success of the scheme and a desire from the UK public to switch to greener travel, the sales of ultra-low emission vehicles has jumped from 1,000 vehicles in 2011, to almost 100,000 in the first 5 months of 2022 alone.

Battery and hybrid electric vehicles now make up more than half of all new cars sold, and fully electric car sales have jumped by 70% in the last year. 

The government now hopes to shift its focus to extending plug-in grants to boost the sales of plug-in taxis, motorcycles, van and trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles. It has already committed £1.6 billion to building the UK’s public charge point network, aiming to eradicate “range anxiety” and ensuring transitioning to zero-emission transport is easy and convenient for all drivers in the UK.

The government have committed to install 10 times more on-street chargers by 2030, which it has said will see a surge in cheaper, more reliable, and quicker charge points. 

Electric car drivers will continue to benefit from current incentives including zero road tax and low company car tax rates as well as significant savings in running costs.

If you’d like to discuss how an electric vehicle could save you and your business money, please give us as call.