First EV models to receive Labour’s full £3,750 Electric Car Grant confirmed

The first two EV models deemed green enough to qualify for Labour’s full Electric Car Grant have finally been announced – a month and a half after the scheme launched.

The Department for Transport has today confirmed another six cars eligible for the taxpayer-funded scheme, with a pair of Ford models the first to meet the Government’s strict criteria to be awarded the largest ‘Band 1’ £3,750 saving.

This emissions yardstick is based on the carbon impact of the production of the EV’s battery, the assembly of the vehicle and the ‘carbon intensity’ of the electric grids in the countries where the car is made. 

Of the 28 sub-£37,000 cars confirmed to date, the remaining 26 vehicles eligible for the grant fail to meet stringent carbon-based emissions targets to receive the full discount, with these cars subject to a lower tier ‘Band 2’ subsidy of £1,500.

According to the DfT, demand for cars qualifying for the grant has surged by as much as 80 per cent in recent weeks.

However, this is in contrast to reports from within the industry, with dealers claiming that buyers are delaying purchases while they wait to understand which models will qualify for the £650millon-backed scheme – and the size of the discount offered. 

To add yet more confusion, the DfT will tonight introduce a £42,000 cap on models eligible for the scheme. 

The Department for Transport has today confirmed the next six EVs that qualify for the Electric Car Grant. Four are eligible for discounts of £1,500, while two Fords have been announced as the first models making the grade for the full £3,750 subsidy  

From today (28 August), the Ford Puma Gen-E and Ford E-Tourneo Courier are both subject to the full £3,750 ECG discount.

This should see the start price for the Puma Gen-E – the battery-powered variant of Britain’s best-selling car for the last two years – drop from £29,995 to £26,245. 

The van-based E-Tourneo Courier, which currently ring in from £32,190, will from today cost £28,440.

Both models are produced at the Craiova factory in Romania. 

The batteries – which use chemistry supplied from South Korea – are assembled there too, while the electric drive units are manufactured at company’s Halewood plant in Merseyside.

It’s this European-based production that’s likely seen both models awarded the full grant discount amount.  

Lisa Brankin, Ford UK Chair and managing director – who has been one of the biggest critics of the Government’s recent efforts to push EV sales using the contentious Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate – said she ‘welcomes’ the government’s decision to accelerate the transition to electric mobility using the ECG.

She added that she was ‘proud that Ford’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised with the full EV grant’.

Brankin went on: ‘Ford Puma is the best-selling car in the UK and the government grant will help make the all-electric Puma Gen-E even more affordable.’

The Puma Gen-E – the battery-powered variant of Britain’s best-selling car for the last two years – is one of the first two models to receive a ‘Band 1’ £3,750 ECG discount. This should drop the start price from £29,995 to £26,245

The van-based E-Tourneo Courier is the other Band 1 ECG qualifier. It currently ring in from £32,190, though from today should cost from £28,440

The announcement also sees the Peugeot e-308 hatchback and larger e-408 receive the lower £1,500 subsidy, as do two models from DS Automobiles – the DS3 and Nº4.

Confirming the new today, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘We’re putting money back in people’s pockets and making it easier and cheaper for families to make the switch to electric, by delivering discounts of up to £3,750 on EVs.

‘Our measures are driving competition in the UK EV market, boosting economic growth, and supporting jobs and skills as part of our Plan for Change.’

The Labour Government confirmed the relaunch of a taxpayer-funded electric car purchase grant on 15 July in a bid to stimulate demand among private buyers following an extended spell of slowing sales.

Ongoing concerns, largely around a lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety, catastrophic depreciation and premium new model prices have stunted the sales curve of EVs over the last 24 months.

The hope is that by lowering prices using grants until 2028-29, ministers will be able to eradicate at least one of these hurdles in the run-up to the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the scheme is ‘putting money back in people’s pockets’ and ‘making it easier and cheaper for families to make the switch to electric’

Lisa Brankin, Ford UK Chair and managing director, has in recent months criticised Labour’s proposals to increase EV sales, namely…