page_title: Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles
section_title: Plug-in Car Grant
hierarchical_section_title: Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles / Europe / United Kingdom / Plug-in Car Grant
caption_attribution_description: English: 2016 BMW i8 Taken in Leamington Spa
context_page_description: Government incentives for plug-in electric vehicles have been established around the world to support policy-driven adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. These incentives mainly take the form of purchase rebates, tax exemptions and tax credits, and additional perks that range from access to bus lanes to waivers on fees. The amount of the financial incentives may depend on vehicle battery size or all-electric range. Often hybrid electric vehicles are included. Some countries extend the benefits to fuel cell vehicles, and electric vehicle conversions.
  More recently, some government have also established long term regulatory signals with specific target timeframes such as ZEV mandates, national or regional CO
  2 emissions regulations, stringent fuel economy standards, and the phase-out of internal combustion engine vehicle sales. For example, Norway set a national goal that all new car sales by 2025 should be zero emission vehicles. Other countries have announced similar targets for the electrification of their vehicle fleet, most within a timeframe between 2030 and 2050.
context_section_description: The Plug-in Car Grant started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the UK. The program reduces the up-front cost of eligible cars by providing a 25% grant towards the cost of new plug-in cars capped at GB£5,000 (US$7,450). From 1 April 2015, the purchase price cap was raised to cover up to 35% discount of the vehicle's recommended retail price, up to the already existing GB£5,000 limit. This change means electric cars priced under GB£20,000 will be able to take advantage of most or all of the £5,000 discount. Both private and business fleet buyers are eligible for this grant, which is received at the point of purchase and the subsidy is claimed back by the manufacturer afterwards. The subsidy programme is managed in a similar way to the grant made as part of the 2009 Car Scrappage Scheme, allowing consumers to buy an eligible car discounted at the point of purchase with the subsidy claimed back by the manufacturer afterwards.
  The government announced in April 2014 that funding for the full grant of up to GB£5,000 will remain in place until either 50,000 grants have been issued or 2017, whichever is first. As forecasts estimated that the scheme will reach its 50,000 limit around November 2015, the government announced in August 2015 that the Plug-in Car Grant will continue until at least February 2016 for all plug-in cars with CO
  2 emissions of 75 g/km of under. The Government also announced that a minimum of  GB£200 million (US$311 million) has been made available to continue the Plug-in Car Grant.
  Vehicles eligible for the subsidy must meet the following criteria:
  Vehicle type: Only ultra-low emission cars are eligible (vehicle category M1).  Motorbikes, quadricycles and vans are not covered.
  Carbon dioxide exhaust emissions: Vehicles must emit equal or less than 75 grams of carbon dioxide (CO
  2) per kilometre driven.
  Range: Electric vehicles (EVs) must be able to travel a minimum of 70 miles (110 km) between charges. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) must have a minimum all-electric range of 10 miles (16 km).
  Minimum top speed: Vehicles must be able to reach a speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) or more.
  Warranty: Vehicles must have a 3-year or 60,000 miles (97,000 km) vehicle warranty (guarantee) and a 3-year battery and electric drive train warranty, with the option of extending the battery warranty for an extra 2 years('drive train' means the parts that send power from the engine to the wheels. These include the clutch, transmission (gear box), drive shafts, U-joints and differential).
  Battery performance: Vehicles must have either a minimum 5-year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard, or extra evidence of battery performance to show reasonable performance after 3 years of use
  Electrical safety: Vehicles must comply with certain regulations (UN-ECE Reg 100.01) that show that they are electrically safe.
  Crash safety: To make sure cars will be safe in a crash, they must either have: EC whole vehicle type approval (EC WVTA, not small series) or evidence that the car has appropriate levels of safety as judged by international standards.
  In February 2015 the government announced that to take account of rapidly developing technology, and the growing range of ULEVs on the British market, the criteria for the plug-in car grant was updated and from April 2015, eligible ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) must meet criteria in one of the following categories depending on emission levels and zero-emission-capable mileage, with a technology neutral approach, which means that hydrogen fuel cell cars are also eligible for the grant:
  Category 1: CO
  2 emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 mi (110 km).
  Category 2: CO
  2 emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range between 10 to 69 mi (16 to 111 km).
  Category 3: CO
  2 emissions of 50-75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 mi (32 km).
  In December 2015, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that Plug-in car grant was extended until March 2018 to encourage more than 100,000 UK motorists to buy
caption: Plug-in hybrid models with a list price of over GB£60,000, such as the BMW i8, are no longer eligible for the Plug-in Car Grant from March 2016.[180][181]
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