Hyundai Kona Electric now has the EV grant and an extra bonus for Motability customers

The Hyundai Kona has become the South Korean brand’s first model to receive the Government’s Electric Car Grant, saving money for buyers, as well as users of the Motability scheme.

Now starting from £33,500, the entry-level Hyundai Kona Electric Advance is only roughly £2,000 more than an equivalent Vauxhall Mokka Electric. The latter has qualified for the ECG for some months now, while the Kona has had to make do with Hyundai’s own Electric Grant, which effectively is more of a manufacturer discount than a true grant.

Also benefitting from the changes are customers of the Motability scheme as Advance Payments have been slashed by more than half. Prior to the Grant’s introduction, the Advance Payment on a Kona Electric would set you back £2,249, however, scheme users will now only have to pay £749 up front.

President of Hyundai & Genesis UK, Ashey Andrew, said: “Kona Electric’s eligibility for the Electric Car Grant ensures that customers have access to a more level playing field when it comes to choosing electric mobility.”

If you want to save even more money on a new Hyundai Kona Electric – or any new car for that matter – Auto Express’ Buy a Car service is home to fantastic deals, no matter whether you plan to finance, lease or even buy outright.

Until this point, the main thing that has prevented Hyundai models from receiving the ECG has been the brand’s lack of an official Science Based Target. This is essentially an official carbon emissions reduction goal, as per the Paris Agreement. As having an SBT is a stipulation of receiving the grant, we can only assume Hyundai has now set one up in the hope that customer savings will result in more sales.

All versions of the Hyundai Kona Electric qualify for the ECG, as even the top-of-the-range Ultimate starts from under the £42,000 price limit. Every model comes equipped with a 215bhp front-mounted electric motor, alongside a 65.4kWh battery pack. These get the car from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds, and provide it with a range of up to 319 miles on the WLTP test cycle.

The Kona’s qualification for Band 2 of the ECG – the most environmentally friendly cars qualifying for Band 1 get an even more generous £3,750 grant – means that we could soon see other Hyundais, such as the Inster, also qualify for Government funding. 

A cheaper version of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 could allow that car to become eligible, while the Kia Niro EV, the Kona’s sister car, could also join the list of cars receiving grants.

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