Ford models first to get full £3,750 electric car grant as six cars added

Two Ford EVs have become the first models eligible for the higher discount under the Government’s Electric Car Grant.

The Puma Gen-E and E-Tourneo Courier both qualify for the full £3,750 grant as part of the government scheme to boost EV uptake.

The move means that the Ford Puma Gen-E now costs from £26,245 with the grant applied, bringing it closer to key rivals such as the £24,495 Renault 4 and the £22,495 Vauxhall Frontera.

The E-Tourneo Courier – a passenger version of Ford’s smallest electric van – now costs from £29,940, undercutting rivals such as the Vauxhall Combo Life and Peugeot E-Rifter, both of which cost just under £31,000 with the band 2 grant applied.

Lisa Brankin, Ford UK chair and managing director, said: “We welcome the government’s decision to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and are proud that Ford’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised with the full EV grant.”

The two Fords are among six new cars added to the list of eligible vehicles but are the only two to qualify for the band 1 discount. Also approved but only qualifying for the £1,500 band 2 discount are the Peugeot E-308 and E-408 and the DS 3 and DS No.4.

The government has said that a car’s grant banding is based on verified “Science-Based Targets” on carbon emissions linked to vehicle and battery production. It is not yet clear where the threshold lies for the different bands but it is thought the system is designed to favour cars built in the UK.

This appears to be backed up by the fact that the Fords – both of whose powertrains are constructed in the UK – qualify for the higher discount while the Renault 5 and Nissan Micra don’t, despite being built at Renault’s sustainability-focused Douai factory in France. The fact Nissan expects the new Leaf – built entirely in Sunderland – to qualify for the higher grant also supports this theory.

The government claims there has been an 80% increase in interest among potential buyers since the ECG was announced, and online marketplace Autocar has reported a surge in searches for EVs.

Ian Plummer, commercial director at Autotrader, said: “The Electric Car Grant prompted the highest uptick in consumer demand for EVs in three years on Autotrader, and interest in cars priced below £37,000 almost doubled.

“Half of consumers say price is the biggest barrier to going electric, so it’s fantastic to see the first tranche of models qualify for the full £3,750 grant.

”With additional money off from both the industry, which has launched additional offers and grants and government, annual running costs savings of up to £1,500 and 9 in 10 EV drivers saying they wouldn’t go back, now’s a great time to consider going electric.”