Cupra Born, VW ID3 And More Get UK EV Grant Discount

Been wondering what cars are going to be eligible for discounts under the UK government’s new grant for EVs? Wonder no more, as the initial batch of cars to get price drops as part of the scheme has been announced, and is slowly but steadily growing. Most recently, it's been augmented by a selection of Peugeots, plus the VW ID3 and Cupra Born twins.

What does a car have to do to qualify for the grant?

Firstly, it has to be electric. Obviously. It has to have a range of at least 100 miles too, although that’s basically every EV these days. Secondly, the list price has to be under £37,000, although this applies to powertrains rather than specific trim levels. That's why the top spec Alpine A290 GTS gets the grant despite starting at £37,500 – because it shares its 217bhp motor with the £36,000 GT Performance model.

Thirdly – and this is the kicker – it has to meet sustainability criteria relating to its manufacturing. As part of this, its manufacturer must be part of the Science Based Targets Initiative, a programme that companies can sign up to help reduce their CO2 emissions. 

Also factored in are the countries where both the batteries are manufactured and the car is assembled. If these happen in countries with lower-carbon energy grids according to the International Energy Agency, a car's more likely to be eligible. The specifics of this haven't been divulged, and while it was initially thought this would essentially rule out any Asian-built car, the Japanese-made Nissan Ariya has been confirmed as eligible.

Based on these criteria, cars are sorted into two bands that determine how big of a discount they get. Band 2 cars can get up to £1500 knocked off their price, while more sustainably-manufactured Band 1 cars can receive a full £3750 off. It seems being eligible for Band 1 is no small feat, as no qualifying cars have been announced yet, although Nissan expects its new UK-built Leaf to receive the full amount when it goes on sale later this year.

Which cars qualify?

Band 1

As mentioned above, no cars have been announced yet that meet the Band 1 criteria and therefore qualify for the full £3750.

Band 2

A growing list of cars is now eligible for a £1500 discount by meeting Band 2 criteria.

• Alpine A290
• Citroen e-Berlingo (except XL version)
• Citroen e-C3 and e-C3 Aircross
• Citroen e-C4 and e-C4 X
• Citroen e-C5 Aircross
• Cupra Born (except VZ version)
• Nissan Ariya (except all-wheel drive versions)
• Nissan Micra
• Peugeot e-208
• Peugeot e-2008
• Peugeot e-Rifter
• Renault 4
• Renault 5
• Renault Megane
• Renault Scenic
• Vauxhall Astra Electric
• Vauxhall Combo Life Electric
• Vauxhall Corsa Electric
• Vauxhall Frontera Electric
• Vauxhall Grandland Electric
• Vauxhall Mokka Electric
• Volkswagen ID3 (except GTX version)

What if I want an EV that doesn’t qualify?

Well, depending on what you’re after, you might be in luck. Following the announcement of the scheme, various car manufacturers introduced ‘grants’ of their own, either to spur on demand while they waited to find out if their cars would be eligible, or because they knew they likely wouldn’t be.

Because these grants are totally at the discretion of the manufacturers, we’ve seen discounts applied to cars that otherwise likely wouldn’t be eligible, including some above the £37,000 threshold.

That sees some of our favourite EVs get cheaper. Both equally excellent ends of Hyundai’s EV spectrum, for instance – the cutesy Inster and phenomenal Ioniq 5 N – get discounts, as do two very fun Stellantis twins, the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and Abarth 600e. While it’s not necessarily a car we’d recommend, the brutally quick MG4 XPower also sees a price cut. We’ve put together details of some of the manufacturers introducing grants of their own here.