There will be a refresh of electric car grant guidelines in April 2015. The government has pledged to continue its support of plug-in vehicles. This means that grant schemes such as the plug-in car grant and the EV Homecharge scheme will continue.
However, the guidelines are being revised, so there are some differences.
Plug-in car and van grant
From 1st April 2015, buyers of eligible electric cars will be able to claim 35% of the vehicle’s OTR price as opposed to the 25% currently offered. But grant cap of £5,000 remains so most new puchases will get the full £5k.
To take account of rapidly developing technology, and the growing range of ULEVs on the market, the criteria for the Plug-in Car Grant is also being updated.
From April ULEVs must meet criteria in one of the following categories depending on emission levels and zero-emission-capable mileage:
Category 1: CO2 emissions of <50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles;
Category 2: CO2 emissions of <50g/km and a zero emission range between 10 and 69 miles;
Category 3: CO2 emissions of 50-75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 miles.
My Nissan Leaf meets category 1 with zero emmissions and a range of well over 70 miles.
EV Homecharge Scheme
The cap on the Homecharge scheme will be reduced on 13th April to £700; until now the grant was sufficient to get an installation free with extra payable for super fast charging.
I have the standard fast charger that can give me a ‘full tank’ in just a few hours – and as I never need to charge from ’empty’ my charge time is usually less than 4 hours.
Eligible applicants will be able to get a grant to cover 75% (capped at £700) of the installation costs for a domestic charging point.
I believe that the price for my installation would have been nearer £2,000 had I needed to pay for it. So, if you are thinking electric now it can save you to get in soon and a charging lpint in place by April.
I had originally asked Brisitsh Gas to install and they asked my for a £100 payment; their very poor service led to me asking Chargemaster to do it; they offered to do it more efficiently and for no charge at all.
So far, the UK government has attributed almost £1 billion of funding to plug-in vehicles up to 2020, cementing their support for the uptake of electric vehicles into the mainstream.