UK Electric Car Grant in detail: discount size, eligibility and how you get the ECG
The Government has announced an electric car grant with discounts of up to £3,750, but does any model get the full amount?
Electric cars have recently become more affordable after the UK Government announced a new EV grant scheme, which cuts the price of qualifying zero-emissions cars by up to £3,750.
The Electric Car Grant (ECG) is available on new EVs costing less than £37,000. Only those models from manufacturers that have committed to emissions targets will qualify to receive funding. The first models eligible for the grant have now been confirmed, but more are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.
The government says the ECG is available in two tiers; only cars deemed the most environmentally friendly are eligible to receive the full £3,750 grant, while a second tier of models receives a smaller £1,500 grant. There will be some cars costing less than £37,000 that will not qualify at all, with the SMMT predicting that a third of models in the price bracket will miss out.
Plenty of popular models aren’t in line for the government grants because they cost more than the price limit. These include the Tesla Model Y: the UK’s, and indeed the world’s, best-selling EV.
We’ve read the fine print of the plan and compiled a complete guide to the new Electric Car Grant. If all this has made you think now is the time for a new electric car, we can help. Our electric car deals page has all the top offers and our parent site Carwow is running a live hub page for the latest EV discounts.
What is the Electric Car Grant?
The Electric Car Grant is much like the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) that was discontinued in 2022 in the sense that it offers buyers a discount on the price of a new electric vehicle. However, the ECG is a lot more complex than the scheme that came before it.
For now, all you need to know is that you don’t need to apply for it when buying an eligible vehicle – it’s the manufacturers that must do all the legwork. Anyone shopping for a new car via Auto Express’ Buy A Car service will automatically see the appropriate reduction from the list price on any model that qualifies.
Speaking of which, only cars that meet the government’s strict rules are eligible to receive funding. Manufacturers must have committed to Science-Based Targets (SBT) for emissions and already showcased reductions. Individual models are also ranked depending on where their battery was made and where the car was assembled, pulling on data regarding each country’s usage of sustainable energy sources.
How much is the Electric Car Grant?
The Electric Car Grant offers two levels of discount for cars costing less than £37,000, allocated depending on how environmentally friendly the government deems each particular model to be.
The greenest cars are awarded the top £3,750 grant while those just about meeting the Government’s standards will get £1,500 off. Everything else receives nothing. The SMMT expects two thirds of the electric cars costing less than £37,000 will get the grant.
Which cars will be eligible for the EV grant?
As mentioned, only cars starting from less than £37,000 are eligible to receive the Government’s subsidy, although it is a little more nuanced than what it might seem on the surface.
For example, Auto Express’s 2025 Car of the Year, the Skoda Elroq, starts from £31,510 for the SE 50 model, which means that it could well be eligible for the ECG. However, the Government’s system focuses on powertrain specifications, rather than trim levels.
This means that, in theory, buyers could step up to the racy-looking SportLine 60 model and still get the grant because, while this starts from £37,410, the cheapest model with the 60 powertrain is in SE L trim, which costs just £33,360. Buyers would not be able to select the 85 or vRS models, though, because these start from more than the £37,000 threshold.
That is, of course, entirely dependent on whether each car is eligible for the grant in the first place, because the restrictions regarding battery and assembly location – the former having the greatest weighting on sustainability scores – could exclude a vast portion of the market.
Speaking to Auto Express, Professor of Business and Sustainability at Cardiff University, Peter Wells, explained how “the scheme takes a lifecycle carbon cost approach that penalises vehicles or batteries assembled in countries deemed to have an electricity grid with 'high' levels of carbon emissions per kW. This is clearly targeted at China, where coal is still a significant fuel in electric power generation.”
What will the EV grant mean for Chinese electric cars?
Bearing in mind environmental restrictions, we suspect cars hailing from China are unlikely to qualify for the ECG. While those utilising some Chinese parts, such as the Citroen e-C3, are able to squeeze into the base Tier 2 category and receive the £1,500 grant, the likes of BYD have thrown in the towel almost immediately; the Chinese giant is now instead offering five years of free maintenance on its EVs and has increased the battery warranty to 200,000km (155,000 miles) or eight years on selected models.
Possessing a Science-Based Target Initiative certification is also a major stipulation for grant eligibility; many Korean and European firms possess similar and/or parallel credentials, but are unable to get the grant due to lacking a SBT specifically.
Every EV officially eligible for the Electric Car Grant
At the time of writing, around 30 different models are available for the EV grant:
| Band 1 (£3,750) | Band 2 (£1,500) |
| Ford Puma Gen-E | Alpine A290 |
| Ford E-Tourneo Courier | DS 3 |
| DS No4 | |
| Citroen e-C3 | |
| Citroen e-C3 Aircross | |
| Citroen e-C4 | |
| Citroen e-C4 X | |
| Citroen e-Berlingo | |
| Citroen e-C5 Aircross | |
| Cupra Born | |
| Peugeot E-208 | |
| Peugeot E-2008 | |
| Peugeot E-Rifter | |
| Peugeot E-308 | |
| Peugeot E-408 | |
| Renault 4 | |
| Renault 5 | |
| Renault Megane | |
| Renault Scenic | |
| Nissan Ariya | |
| Nissan Micra | |
| Vauxhall Astra | |
| Vauxhall Corsa | |
| Vauxhall Combo Life | |
| Vauxhall Frontera | |
| Vauxhall Grandland | |
| Vauxhall Mokka | |
| Volkswagen ID.3 |
EVs likely to get ECG
- Dacia Spring
- Ford Capri
- Ford Explorer
- MINI Aceman
- MINI Cooper
- MINI Countryman
- Skoda Elroq
- Smart #1
- Smart #3
- Volkswagen ID.4
- Volskwagen ID.5
- Volvo EX30
EVs unlikely to get ECG (No SBT)
- Abarth 500e
- Abarth 600e
- Alfa Romeo Junior
- BYD Dolphin
- BYD Dolphin Surf
- BYD Seal
- Fiat 500e
- Fiat 600e
- Fiat Grande Panda
- GWM Ora 03
- Hyundai Inster
- Jeep Avenger
- Kia EV3
- Kia EV4
- KGM Torres EVX
- MG4
- MGS5
- Omoda E5
- Skywell BE11
- Suzuki e Vitara
Pre-emptive discounts on EVs
Some car brands are taking matters into their own hands and starting to offer their own discounts as confusion builds over the Electric Car Grant. Manufacturers are concerned that the announcement of the grant could cause buyers to hold off while they wait to see which cars qualify.
Since the ECG was announced, about a dozen car makers have begun slashing prices on their EVs, including Volvo, Fiat, Hyundai, MG, Leapmotor, Skoda and even Alfa Romeo. Meanwhile, Kia has increased its deposit contribution on the award-winning EV3 and new EV4 models to £3,750.
How many buyers will benefit from the EV grant?
The total funding of £650 million for the EV grant would be enough to subsidise around 173,000 electric car purchases at the maximum grant of £3,750 per vehicle. That's about half the total number of EVs registered in the UK last year, so it appears that the fund will be made to last longer by how few cars will be eligible for the top tier of funding.
Could the EV grant be manipulated?
There are some concerns that those manufacturers offering vehicles that qualify for the grant may manipulate and abuse the system by pre-registering cars and then reselling them or signing up company and demonstrator vehicles for the grant scheme.
The Department for Transport reassured Auto Express that leasing companies, for starters, “must provide a specific user as part of the order documentation, which prevents them from reserving grants unless that vehicle is a genuine sale with a consumer on the other end.”
In regards to manufacturers, the DfT told us that it is "closely monitoring uptake of the scheme to ensure that benefits reach drivers” and pledged to “change the scheme design where necessary to protect taxpayer’s money.” A spokesperson also said exclusion from the scheme and “clawbacks” could be implemented for those not playing by the rules.
Our parent site Carwow has a live page detailing the latest electric car discounts currently on the market.
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