page_title: Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom
section_title: Plug-in Car Grant
hierarchical_section_title: Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom / Government support / Purchase incentives / Plug-in Car Grant
caption_attribution_description: Tesla Roadster
context_page_description: The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom is actively supported by the British government through the plug-in car and van grants schemes and other incentives. About 298,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK up until April 2020, including about 8,800 plug-in commercial vans. As of December 2019, the UK had the second largest European stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use after Norway.
  A surge of plug-in car sales took place in Britain beginning in 2014. Total registrations went from 3,586 in 2013, to 37,092 in 2016, and rose to 59,911 in 2018. The market share of the plug-in segment went from 0.16% in 2013 to 0.59% in 2014, and achieved 2.6% in 2018.
  As of September 2018, the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV is the all-time top-selling plug-in car in the UK almost 37,000 units registered, followed by the Nissan Leaf nearly 24,000 units. Ranking third is the BMW 330e with more than 13,000 units, followed by the BMW i3 with 11,000 units.
  The Plug-in Car Grant programme started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the UK.
context_section_description: The Plug-in Car Grant programme started on 1 January 2011 and is available across the UK The programme reduces the up-front cost of eligible cars by providing a 25% grant towards the cost of new plug-in cars capped at £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 £5,000 limit. This change means electric cars priced under £20,000, such as the Renault Zoe, are 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.
  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 £5,000 will remain in place until either 50,000 grants have been issued or 2017, whichever is first. Nevertheless, as forecasts estimated that the scheme would reached its 50,000 limit around November 2015, the government announced in August 2015 that the Plug-in Car Grant should 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 £200 million (~US$300 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 (CO2) per kilometre driven.
  Range: Electric vehicles (EVs) must be able to travel a minimum of 70 mi (110 km) between charges. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) must have a minimum all-electric range of 10 mi (16 km).
  Minimum top speed: Vehicles must be able to reach a speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) or more.
  Warranty: Vehicles must have a three-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 two years(‘drive train’ means the parts that send power from the engine to the wheels. These include the clutch, transmission (gearbox), drive shafts, U-joints and differential).
  Battery performance: Vehicles must have either a minimum five-year warranty on the battery and electric drive train as standard, or extra evidence of battery performance to show reasonable performance after three years of use
  Electrical safety: Vehicles must comply with certain regulations (UN-ECE Reg 100.00) 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 ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on the British market, the criteria for the plug-in car grant was updated and from April 2015, eligible 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).
  As of October 2016, the following 31 cars available in the British market are eligible for the grant according to their category:
  Eligible category 1 vehicles
  BMW i3, BYD e6, Citroen C-Zero, Ford 
caption: The all-electric Tesla Roadster was not included on the government's plug-in electric car grant list of eligible vehicles.[43]
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