Vauxhall, Renault and Nissan EVs added to Electric Car Grant approved list
The UK Government has confirmed the latest tranche of EVs to qualify for the new Electric Car Grant (ECG).
A total of 19 cars have now been approved for the scheme, which aims to make EVs more accessible by offering discounts of £1,500 or £3,750 off the list price.
Models from Vauxhall, Renault and Nissan have joined the full Citroen EV line-up on the approved list.
Vauxhall’s entire electric range now qualifies for the band 2 reduction of £1,500, which is applied to the list price automatically. That means discounts on the Corsa, Mokka, Frontera, Astra, Astra Sports Tourer, Grandland and Combo Life Electric.
The approval means the new Frontera – Vauxhall’s most affordable EV – now starts at £22,495 while its flagship Grandland family SUV now costs from £35,455.
Both the newly-launched Nissan Micra and the flagship Ariya qualify for the lower £1,500 grant. That brings the price of the entry-level 40kWh Micra to £21,495. Meanwhile the discount on the Ariya, which will apply to all orders from August 13 onwards, cuts the starting price of the large family SUV to £38,155.
Nissan has also said that it expects the new Sunderland-built Leaf to qualify for the full £3,750 grant when it launches later this year.
The Micra’s French-built sister car, the Renault 5, also qualifies for the grant, bringing the entry-point to the award-winning supermini down to £21,495. The rest of the Renault range, including the Renault 4 compact SUV, Megane hatchback and Scenic SUV have also been approved for the £1,500 grant, as well as the Alpine A290 hot hatch.
Renault says the discount will apply to all orders taken since July 16, when the grant was first announced.
The latest announcements come after Citroen was the first car maker to secure approval for its EV range.
Growing list
The latest announcements come after Citroen was the first car maker to secure approval for its EV range.
The e-C3, e-C3 Aircross, e-C4, e-C4 X, e-C5 Aircross and passenger versions of the e-Berlingo all also qualify for a £1,500 discount. That cuts the entry price of the compact E-C3 hatchback to £20,595, meaning one of the UK’s cheapest EVs is now even more affordable, with just a handful of alternatives undercutting it.
The grant, which will automatically be applied to the list price of the cars, also means that the e-C4 now costs from £26,150, while the E-C5 Aircross family SUV will cost buyers £32,565.
Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: “With discounts on 17 car models announced this week alone, we’re delivering on our promise to make it easier and cheaper for families to go electric.”
The ECG was announced in mid-July, promising up to £3,750 off new EVs costing up to £37,000. However, the discount does not come into force until August 11, and car makers have to apply for approval for each electric model in their range.
There are two levels of grant – band 1 offering an automatically applied £3,750 to the list price, and band 2, which offers a £1,500 reduction.
The government says that a car’s band depends on the environmental impact of its production, with only the cleanest cars eligible for the band 1 discount. This is believed to benefit European-built EVs over low-cost cars made in Asia.
Chinese and South Korean production is generally more dependent on fossil fuel-derived energy, and many Chinese brands, such as MG, BYD and GWM are expected to miss out on the grant because of this. The rules could also affect South Korea’s EV leaders Hyundai and Kia, both of whom have announced their own £3,750 discounts since the grant was revealed.
Many other manufacturers have also announced their own discounts ahead of the grant becoming active, including several European brands. Fiat, Volvo, Smart and the VW Group trio of Volkswagen, Seat/Cupra and Skoda have all cut prices on several EVs by up to £3,750. You can find a full list of these manufacturer-backed offers here.
