Every EV model that qualifies for the Electric Car Grant

After a three-year hiatus, ministers have reintroduced taxpayer-funded discounts on electric cars in a bid to accelerate Britain’s transition to EVs. Labour announced its new Electric Car Grant (ECG) on 14 July, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander hailing it as the scheme to ‘unlock’ the nation’s ‘transition to zero emission vehicles’ with promises of reducing prices by as much as £3,750. Its arrival comes in the wake of a slump in private EV sales and a chorus of industry players and car manufacturers demanding a wave of purchase incentives to help them to achieve binding zero emission vehicle sales targets set out by the ZEV mandate.

The Electric Car Grant forms part of the UK’s Plan for Change, and replaces the Conservative’s scrapped Plug-In Car Grant which ended in 2022. But it’s not as easy as walking into a showrooms and expecting to see the cost of a new EV slashed. Only models up to £37,000 are eligible and manufacturers need to adhere to certain sustainability criteria. And car makers have to apply for grants, which has resulted in huge delays announcing qualifying cars as Government bean counters determine which models will be subsidised. Here’s a full list of every electric car that’s qualified for the grant to date…

The ECG is backed by a £650million scheme that’s due to run until 2028-29. It offers buyers money off new all-electric models that are sustainably manufactured and priced at – or under – £37,000. But the grant differs to the previous scheme under Tory leadership from 2011 to 2022 – one because it only supports the greenest EVs. Once the Department for Transport deems if a vehicle qualifies at all, it then has to determine the band based on the car’s ‘sustainability criteria’. This includes the emissions produced during the battery’s manufacturing, the vehicle’s assembly, and the carbon intensity of the electric grids in the countries where the car is made. A certain threshold (which has not been confirmed by the DfT) needs to be met to qualify as a ‘Band 1’ model and the full £3,750 subsidy. Models failing to meet this benchmark will be deemed ‘Band 2’ and only receive a £1,500 discount.

Due to the prolonged application and review process, the Government has in recent weeks been releasing details of which EV models are eligible in drips and drabs. It says it is doing so ‘as fast as it can’. This, however, has created a lot of waiting, uncertainty and frustration. It took over three weeks for the first four eligible models from Citroen to be announced , but the numbers have continued to rise since. Below is the list of every manufacturer and model that’s been given the green light for the ECG.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: A290 French performance brand Alpine has just one model in the Government’s ECG list; the A290 electric hot hatch. The sporty city car has qualified for the £1,500 grant, meaning the compact EV now starts from £32,000. Despite being listed under ‘Renault Alpine’ in the Government’s list, Alpine is a separate brand to Renault, although it is owned by the French car making giant. It serves as the Group’s performance and motorsport brand, and develops its own technologies.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: e-C3 and e-C3 Aircross, e-C4 and e-C4 X, e-C5 Aircross, e-Berlingo Citroen was the first manufacturer to be awarded the grant, with four models passing the lower band (2): The e-C3, e-C4, e-C5 and e-Berlingo van all have £1,500 discounted from their OTR. With the £1,500 ECG applied, the new e-C3 is now available from £20,595, the new e-C3 Aircross starts at £21,595, and the New e-C5 Aircross can be acquired from £32,565. The e-Berlingo (M versions only) van will now cost from £29,740.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: Born Spanish brand Cupra’s Born EV also qualifies for Labour’s official ECG and now has the £1,500 discount automatically applied. So now the Born range costs from £34,190 for the 59kWh battery and from £35,495 for the 79kWh battery.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: Ariya, Micra Struggling Japanese manufacturer Nissan has two EV models that now receive the £1,500 ECG: the Ariya and the Micra. The Micra is the more exciting model to have the saving applied because it is one of three new cars Nissan is launching this year and brings back the iconic nameplate in electric form. It goes on sale in September, and the discount will already be applied – it will cost from £21,495. The Ariya now starts from £33,500 thanks to the ECG.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: e-208, e-2008, e-308, e-Rifter French manufacturer Peugeot has three models in the lower Electric Car Grant: the e-208, e-2008 and e-Rifter MPV. The new e-208 is now available from £28,595, the new e-2008 from £32,195 and the new e-Rifter from £30,850, due to the £1,500 discount.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: Renault 4, Renault 5 , Renault Megane, Renault Scenic Renault’s Alpine A290, Megane, Scenic, R4 and R5 EVs all receive the £1,500 discount, bringing the R5 down to £21,495 for the entry-level version and £25,495 for the R4 entry-level. The Megane costs from £30,995 and the Scenic E-Tech from £35,495. Renault has confirmed that the new ECG will be applied to all orders taken from 16 July, backdating the discount to customers who bought any of the eligible models from that date.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: Astra Electric, Combo Life Electric, Corsa Electric, Frontera Electric, Grandland Electric, Mokka Electric Vauxhall has had its whole electric range confirmed for Band 2, which sees the Corsa Electric, Combo Life Electric, Astra Electric, Mokka Electric, Frontera Electric and Grandland Electric all reduced by £1,500. The Vauxhall’s Frontera Electric family SUV starts from £22,495 OTR, while the popular Corsa Electric is available from £26,005. The Mokka Electric starts from £31,005, while the Astra Electric and Astra Sports Tourer now start from £33,505 and £34,705, respectively. The Grandland Electric is the most expensive with the grant applied costing £35,455.

Models eligible: Band 2 £1,500: ID.3 Volkswagen’s smallest electric car, the ID.3, is the first VW EVs now eligible for the Government scheme. With the £1,500 discount the ID.3 range is available from £29,360 for the ID.3 Pure Essential.

Chinese brands are unlikely to be included in the Electric Car Grant on manufacturing –related emissions ground, due to the coal use for energy creation in the East Asian country. So most Chinese manufacturers have decided to take matters into their own hands and offer grant-style savings of their own – some matching the Government’s maximum subsidy of £3,750. But non-Chinese brands have also released their own grants while they wait to hear if they pass the Government’s application process. We’ve compiled a full list of all the car makers that are offering their own manufacturer electric car grants – from £1,500 to £3,750 – so it’s worth checking to see if the model you want is discounted by the car maker even if it’s not part of the official ECG.

The Electric Car Grant discounts will automatically be applied to recommended retail prices of vehicles that qualify. Once the Government has approved a model, the manufacturer will discount the price online, in showrooms and dealerships. There’s no paperwork for car buyers to complete to gain the discount on your new EV – it’s all done for you.

While electric vehicles are lauded for their zero tailpipe emissions, the carbon emissions and environmental impact during production hinder them from being completely ‘green’. Therefore, the Government is looking at the carbon emissions across the vehicle’s entire lifetime, focusing on how sustainably each model is made, rewarding those that deliver zero driving emissions and low production emissions. Labour says it will grant the car makers with only the ‘highest manufacturing sustainability standards’ with discounts. To qualify manufacturers must hold a Science Based Target at minimum, verified by the independent Science Based Targets initiative, which aligns with the Paris Agreement goals. If it does not pass these checks it will not be eligible for the grant.