Electric Car Grant: all the car brands offering their own ECG discounts

Car makers from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen have announced their own electric car grant discounts as they await approval for the official Government Electric Car Grant (ECG).

The £650 million ECG was announced in mid-July and is intended to stimulate the UK’s new EV market, following months of pressure from the car industry.

The grant, which offers automatic reductions of £1,500 or £3,750 on the list, has been broadly welcomed but the plans have left questions, as well as a gap between being announced and implemented, prompting car makers to take their own action.

The ECG is now up and running and a growing number of cars are being added to the approved list. However, some car makers are still waiting for approval or fear their models might not meet the complex and unclear criteria. So in response, they have launched their own discounts of up to £3,750.

More announcements are being made on an almost daily basis, so we will update this list as we get more information.

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo makes just one electric car – the Junior Elletrica – but has pre-empted any government discount by offering its own £1,500 price cut. That brings the starting price of the compact crossover down to £32,405. The grant also applies across all versions of the Elletrica, including the 276bhp Veloce.

Cupra

The sporty Spanish brand is one of the first European car makers to launch its own ‘Grant Guarantee to bridge the gap between the ECG announcement and its implementation. Until August 31, it is knocking £1,500 off the list price of its Born family hatchback, bring the entry level price down to £34,190. The discount applies across V1, V2 and V3 trims and all battery capacities, but doesn’t cover the hot Born VZ model.

Fiat

Fiat has a history of offering its own grants of up to £3,000 on its electric range but, for the moment, is offering £1,500 off a number of models. While it waits for the eligibility of its cars to be confirmed, the Italian brand is offering savings on the 500e (now priced from £25,535) and the 600e (from £28,535) as well as their performance-tuned Abarth siblings, which cost from £28,485 and £35,485 respectively.

GWM

China’s GWM says it is removing the uncertainty around which cars will qualify for the government ECG by launching its own ‘Green Grant’. This discount knocks £1,500 off the list price of GWM’s only EV – the Ora 03. It means prices for the BYD Dolphin rival now start at just £21,245 for the entry-level Pure, rising to £29,245 for the top-spec GT.

Hyundai

There are rumours that Korean-made EVs may not qualify for the grant due to the country’s reliance on fossil fuel-derived energy. To counteract that, Hyundai has announced wide-ranging discounts on its entire EV range. The Hyundai Electric Grant offers £3,750 off the already budget-friendly Inster, reducing its starting price to £19,755. The rest of the Hyundai EV range, including the Kona Electric, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 Ioniq 9 and high-performance Ioniq 5 N also receive a £1,500 discount.

Leapmotor

Leapmotor was the first brand to take a leap on offering its own version of the grant – possibly in anticipation of its Chinese-built cars being excluded from the government scheme. The European/Chinese joint venture has cut £1,500 off its T03 city, bringing its starting price down to just £14,495. Meanwhile, it has slashed £3,750 from the price of the larger C10 SUV, bringing it down to £32,750.

MG

MG is another China-based firm offering its own discounts regardless of how the government assesses its cars. Both the MG4 family hatchback and MGS5 EV SUV have received £1,500 price cuts, bringing them down to £25,645 and £27,245 respectively. MG says the new discount comes on top of any existing incentives, including a £1,000 test drive bonus.

Peugeot

Three Peugeot EVs have been approved for the official government grant scheme but the French car maker has also announced its own offers on several other models. While the e-208, e-2008 and E-Rifter all get official government funding, Peugeot is offering its own £1,500 on the E-308, E-308 SW, E-408, E-Traveller. That cuts the starting price of the E-308 hatchback to a more competitive £31,825 and the SW estate version to £34,660. The E-408 drops to £35,560 while the E-Traveller MPV now starts at £47,435.

Skoda

Skoda is the second VW Group brand to launch its own electric car discount ahead of the official scheme’s launch. Until August 31, buyers can secure a £1,500 discount on the list price of the new Elroq and recently updated Enyaq SUVs. The offer applies to most models but excludes the all-wheel drive ‘x’ variants and performance-focused vRS models. Prices after the discount start at £30,010 for the Elroq and £37,510 for the Enyaq.

Skywell

One-model brand Skywell has reacted to uncertainty around grant eligibility by introducing its own £3,750 savings on its BE11. That means customers can secure the large family SUV for as little as £27,245 thanks to the combined effect of the in-house grant and a £6,000 dealer finance contribution.

Smart

Smart has applied its own £1,500 saving to its two smaller models – the #1 and #3 siblings. This saving comes on top of existing manufacturer contributions of up to £3,000 on the #1 and £2,000 on the #3. That means buyers can secure the SUV-styled #1 for £25,460 and the coupe-SUV-bodied #3 for £30,460. There’s no word on whether similar savings will be applied to the incoming #5.

Suzuki

Suzuki hasn’t even launched its first EV yet but has already announced its plans to apply a copycat discount. The E-Vitara will launch this Autumn and will immediately come with £3,750 off the previously stated launch price. The deal applies to all versions of the compact SUV and means the entry-level 49kWh Motion 2WD starts at £26,249, while the range-topping 61kWh Ultra AllGrip-e 4WD is priced at £34,049. With orders opening imminently, the Suzuki Granted offer will run until December 31, 2025.

Toyota

The next year will see Toyota expand its EV passenger car offering with a new Urban Cruiser, the C-HR+ and the bZ4X Touring. For now, though, it has just the bZ4X. And to make sure it’s not left behind by rivals slashing prices, Toyota has knocked £3,750 off the bZ4X list price. That, in combination with a “price realignment” brings the family SUV’s starting price down to £33,245 for the entry-level Pure trim with its 318-mile range.

Vauxhall

Vauxhall’s EV line-up is growing rapidly and ahead of any government backing, the British car maker has applied its own £1,500 grant to its entire EV range. That means price cuts across the Corsa, Mokka, Frontera, Astra and Grandland electric families. The Frontera, already Vauxhall’s most affordable EV now starts at £22,495, while the Grandland starts at £34,605. The new manufacturer-backed discount comes on top of exisiting deposit contributions of up to £1,500 and the “Electric All In” package that offers £500 towards a home charger or public charging credit.

Volkswagen

Like most other brands Volkswagen’s ‘Grant Guarantee’ is offering savings of £1,500 on the list price of selected models. In VW’s case, the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV are in line for savings on all but the top-spec GTX models. The ID.3 now starts at £29,360 after discount, while the ID.4 costs from £38,090. VW is one of the few manufacturers to make it clear that if its models do qualify for the official ECG, buyers won’t be able to benefit from both discounts.

Volvo

Just one car in Volvo’s range falls under the ECG’s £37,000 ceiling but rather than wait for the official scheme, the Swedish car maker has applied its own discounts. The move means drivers can now save £1,500 on the compact EX30 SUV, bringing its starting price down to £31,560. Volvo is also currently offering a £1,500 discount on the larger EX40, which now starts at £44,760, and a £2,000 saving on the EC40, which starts at £50,410.