The current grants for electric cars could be scrapped, according to a new hint from one of the Government’s transport ministers.
Rachel Maclean, Minister for the Future of Transport and Decarbonisation, has dropped a hint that the grant – which currently offers a subsidy of up to £2,500 off the price of a new electric car costing less than £35,000 – would be kept under review.
Speaking to Autocar magazine, Maclean stated that “It’s right to keep on looking at that [the future of the scheme], because ultimately we need to make sure we’re not using government money to help people buy cars who could have afforded them anyway.
“’One of our concerns is to make this an equitable transition for everyone, and of course at the moment electric cars are a bit more expensive – although if you factor in the overall cost of ownership, they will be on a parity soon.”
The Government unexpectedly slashed the plug-in grant in March, reducing the amount available by £500 while also bringing the threshold down for the total cost of vehicles able to take advantage of the grant from £50,000.
First launched in 2011, the grant initially offered up to £5,000 off the price of a new plug-in vehicle.
The Road to Zero sustainability strategy – launched in 2018 – stated that the Government would ‘expect to deliver a managed exit from the grant in due course and continue to support the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles through other measures.
