Electric Vehicle Grants: What You Can Apply For

18 February 20223 min read

Switching to electric cars and vans also means you can often access grants for buying vehicles and installing chargepoints.

Here’s what is currently available*.

There are various grants available from the Government to help pay for electric vehicles as well as home and workplace chargepoints, but in some cases who can access these has changed in recent months.

The Government has allocated £620 million for electric vehicle grants and infrastructure, with a focus on local on-street residential charge points, so here’s our guide to what you can apply for, and how much*.

Plug-in Vehicle Grant: Cars

The Plug-in Vehicle Grant scheme has supported the purchase of nearly half a million cars and vans over the past decade, but the terms have changed recently.

Now the grant is only available up to £1,500 for fully electric cars priced under £32,000, which the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) says currently means around 20 models in the market are supported.

Funding for wheelchair accessible vehicles is being prioritised, OZEV says, with a £2,500 grant and a higher £35,000 price cap available.

Vans and trucks

The plug-in grant will now pay for 35% of the purchase price up to £5,000 for large vans and £2,500 for small vans.

In 2021, Plug in Van Grant orders were more than 250% higher than in 2020, illustrating how quickly the market is expanding.

For small trucks, the grant will pay for 20% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of £16,000, and for larger vehicles, 20% of the purchase price, up to £25,000.

Businesses can claim up to 1,000 plug-in van and truck grants for each year, with a maximum 250 small and large trucks each of that total number. But there are limited numbers of the full £16,00 and £25,000 grants – after that the maximum you can apply for is £5,000.

The weight categories are defined by OZEV as:

Small vans

Less than 2,500kg gross vehicle weight
CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km
Can travel at least 60 miles without any emissions

Large vans

Between 2,500kg and 3,500kg gross vehicle weight
CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km
Can travel at least 60 miles without any emissions

Small trucks

Between 3,500kg and 12,000kg gross weight
CO2 emissions of at least 50% less than the equivalent conventional Euro VI vehicle that can carry the same capacity
Can travel at least 60 miles without emissions

Large trucks

Heavier than 12,000kg
CO2 emissions of at least 50% less than the equivalent conventional Euro VI vehicle that can carry the same capacity
The ability to travel at least 60 miles emissions-free

You can find out what vehicles qualify, create new orders for grants and check the status of existing applications here.

Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme

The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) will be revised in April 2022. Before this date, it has provided grants of up to 75% towards the cost of installing electric vehicle smart chargepoints at domestic properties. A grant cap is set at £350 (including VAT) per installation.

From April 2022, it will no longer be available to ‘homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi-detached or terraced housing’. Installations for these will need to be completed by March 31 and a claim submitted to the DVLA by the end of April.

Instead, it will shift to homeowners who live in flats or people in rented accommodation, as well as landlords.

There are other stipulations, around off-street parking, how the vehicle is funded and who owns it, and installation requirements.

Workplace Charging Scheme

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a voucher-based scheme to help businesses, charities and public sector organisations fund the installation of EV chargepoints on the premises.

The contribution is limited to the 75% of purchase and installation costs (inclusive of VAT, and up to £350 for each socket) for a maximum of 40 across all sites for each applicant.

On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme

Local authorities can access grant funding for on-street chargepoints in residential streets where off-street parking is not available – but it is not open to residents or businesses to apply.

Click here for details of the grant schemes available.

*Details correct as at February 2022.