Which electric cars no longer qualify for a grant in the UK?
Government has lowered cut-off to £35,000, meaning you now have to pay full price for these EVs
The big news yesterday was the government's shock announcement that it has cut its EV grant from £3000 to £2500 and that only sub-£35,000 cars are now eligible.
Previously, the threshold was at £50,000, so new and upcoming entries such as the Volkswagen ID 4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E would have been eligible, but it's now only the more affordable EV entries that can take advantage.
Here are the models that previously qualified for a sizeable discount - but which are now effectively £3000 more expensive at point of purchase as a result of the change.
*BMW i3 *
Just two weeks ago, BMW hiked up prices for its eight-year-old electric hatchback, raising the entry cost to £39,690 before application of the grant. Now even this most affordable option falls outside the new threshold, raising questions over its longevity on the UK market.
*DS 3 Crossback E-Tense*
Stellantis's plush electric crossover still qualifies for the grant – just – but only in its Prestige (£34,000) and Performance Line (£34,400) guises. The Performance Line+ and limited-run Inès de la Fressange models command a premium and are thus ineligible.
*Hyundai Kona Electric*
The government highlighted the Kona as one of the accessible EVs that remain eligible for a subsidy but neglected to mention that the more usable 64kWh variant - with its 300 miles of range - is now out of grasp for grant-hunters. The 179-mile 39kWh variant remains eligible.
*Kia e-Niro*
It's a similar story for the Kona's Kia sibling, which can now only be bought at the discounted price in entry-level 2 trim, with the 39kWh battery pack and a lesser-powered 134bhp electric motor.
*Kia Soul EV *
Kia's more style-focused electric crossover, the Soul EV, is currently only available in the UK in highly specified First Edition form, which packs a hefty kit list and the e-Niro's 64kWh battery, and costs £37,545. It remains to be seen if cheaper and shorter-range variants will bring the price down below £35,000.
*Polestar 2*
A model that was priced right on the borderline of the old plug-in car grant, the £49,990 Polestar 2 now loses out on any government incentive.
The luxury electric hatchback is essentially sold as a single trim level, with the £5000 Performance pack adding uprated suspension, brakes and alloy wheels but retaining the same dual-motor powertrain and 78kWh battery. That meant customers happy to stick to the standard specification were getting a lot of car for their money.
*Tesla Model 3*
Some might argue that Tesla’s most affordable model was the car the government had in mind when choosing the new cut-off point for its EV grant. The Model 3 was one of the UK’s best-selling new cars in 2020, regularly topping monthly sales charts over established ICE models such as the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf.
Under the new rules, however, neither the entry-level Standard Range Plus nor dual-motor Long Range versions qualify. The top-end Performance was already exempt under the previous system, as it retails for more than £50,000.
Tesla is currently offering to take the £2500 plug-in car grant value off the list price of a Standard Range Plus or Long Range for customers buying from existing inventory. The offer is valid until the end of March.
*Vauxhall Mokka-e*
Only the entry-level SE Nav version of Vauxhall's radically reinvented crossover EV comes in at less than £35,000. Second-rung SRi Nav Premium nudges the price up to £35,735 so just misses out on the grant.
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