Whatever’s happened to the £300m EV grants?

Just £12million of the £300m set aside by the Government for electric car grants has been used since the scheme came 
into effect in January 2011.

A total of 2,311 claims have been made for electric cars – according to latest Department for Transport (DfT) statistics – and 140 claims for vans.
This works out at £11.5m in grants for cars – for which buyers get a 25 per cent discount up to £5,000 – and £1.27m for vans, which attract a saving of £8,000.

But even though £287m of cash is lying unused, transport minister Norman Baker remains optimistic about the grant. “A quarter of all cars benefiting from the Plug in Car Grant were ordered in the last three months, and new models are being added to the list of eligible vehicles,” he said.
 He also claimed he’s “relaxed” about the current uptake, adding that it was in line with what was expected for new technology.

A Nissan spokesman claimed the grant scheme is generous enough, but had concerns about its future. “People need to know how long it’ll be available for. We knew it would be a slow burner, so taking it away as people get used to it will strangle it,” he warned.

When the incentive launched, the Government said it would be available until 2015. There’s been no word on this being extended.

The initial £300m was enough to fund 15,000 electric car sales a year – a far cry from the 2,400 actually registered since January 2011 (although not all have used the grant).

Nissan’s concerns were echoed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with a spokesman arguing the grant should “deliver stability and certainty to motorists by committing to incentivise plug-in vehicles 
well beyond 2015”.

The DfT
confirmed the discount would run until the end of the current Parliament, but refused to 
say whether it would 
continue after this.