We are writing to tell you that the Government is today changing the Plug-in Car Grant (PICG), the Plug-in Van Grant (PIVG) and the Plug in Motorcycle Grant (PIMG) rates and eligibility criteria. We are also introducing some other changes which apply across all grant schemes. Please ensure you read this communication carefully.
The plug-in grant scheme has supported nearly half a million vehicles over the past decade. Sales of zero-emission cars are up 89% compared to 2020. Plug in van orders are already over 250% higher than in 2020 and Plug in motorcycle orders have almost tripled over the same period. In order to make our available funding go further, and help more businesses and consumers to make the switch, we are re-focusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable vehicles, reducing grant rates and limiting the number of van grants available to 1000 per customer per year.
The new terms apply from 07:00 today (Wednesday 15th December 2021). We have temporarily suspended the grant portal as we transition to the new rates.
Government has a responsibility to manage the grant budget and to deliver value for money for taxpayers and as signalled to industry following the March 2021 grant changes, has therefore been unable to provide notice ahead of the grant changes.
We will allow dealers or vehicle manufacturers to claim for any orders that were placed by customers in the 7 consecutive days before the grant rate change which were not logged on the portal. This means that any orders placed by customers between 00:01 on 08 December 2021 and 23:59 on 14 December 2021 before the grants rate changed that had not yet been logged on the portal will be paid at previous rates and eligibility criteria. We will send a follow up email later today to provide details of this process.
Please note the changes outlined below, and what they mean for all portal users and your customers. Please note that where a price cap has changed or been newly introduced, we will be updating the online eligible vehicles list at around midday today (Wednesday 15 December) to reflect vehicles which we believe remain eligible for the grant.
Once the webpage has been revised to reflect the grant changes, it is the responsibility of manufacturers or their representatives to notify OZEV if listed vehicles should not be eligible. Orders placed following the update of the webpage for vehicles later found to be priced above the cap will be cancelled. Vehicles eligible for the grant are also being amended on the grant portal.
Plug-in Car Grant
Grant rates changed from:
• 35% of purchase price, up to £2,500
To:
• 35% of purchase price, up to £1500
• 35% of purchase price, up to £2,500 for cars which are converted to wheelchair accessible (subject to limits set out below)
Eligibility criteria changed from:
• Cars must cost less than £35,000. This is the recommended retail price (RRP) inclusive of VAT and delivery fees.
• These vehicles have CO2 emission of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km (70 miles) without any emissions at all
To:
• Cars must cost less than £32,000. This is the recommended retail price (RRP), inclusive of VAT and delivery fees (for full definition please see Plug in Car Grant Application Guidance)
• Cars which are converted to wheelchair accessible must cost less than £35,000 (subject to limits set out below). This is the recommended retail price (RRP) inclusive of VAT, and delivery fees, and excludes conversion costs (for full definition please see Plug in Car Grant Application Guidance)
• These vehicles have no tailpipe CO2 emissions and can travel at least 112km (70 miles)
There are a total of 250 wheelchair accessible vehicle grants available until 31 March 2022, and a further 1000 available between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.
Plug-in Van Grant (N1/Light Commercial Vehicles)
Grant rates changed from:
• 35% of purchase price up to £3,000 for small vans < 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (t GVW)
• 35% of purchase price up to £6,000 for large vans 2.5-3.5t GVW
To:
• 35% of purchase price up to £2,500 for small vans < 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (t GVW)
• 35% of purchase price up to £5,000 for large vans 2.5-3.5t GVW
There are no changes to grant rates for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
New Plug in Van Grant Limits
To ensure that the Plug in Van Grant scheme is sustainable and to ensure fair distribution of grant across stakeholders we are introducing a new limit on the total number of grants available to each business, organisation or individual through the Plug in Van and Truck grants.
Each business, organisation or individual may receive up to 1000 grants each financial year (1 April to 31 March). Limits apply to end customers and not to lease companies. Orders placed on the portal before 07:00 on 15 December 2021 will not be counted towards this year’s limits.
Existing per customer and total limits on Plug in Truck Grant orders will continue to apply.
Next Steps and Further Details
To implement these changes, the portal has been taken offline from 7am today. When the portal is back online changes to the portal will have been completed to reflect the above changes.
The guidance on the gov.uk website will be updated to reflect the new grant rates and eligibility criteria. A revised list of vehicles which are now eligible for the grants will be available around 12 noon today (Wednesday 15 December 2021) at https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants/eligibility.
If you have any questions after reading this email and updates to the web pages please contact your vehicle manufacturer contact who will contact OZEV directly. DVLA have no jurisdiction or responsibility for policy decisions on the grant. We cannot consider exemptions to the changes described above. Please note that we may take longer to respond to enquiries than normal.