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Electric car grants dropped

hifinutt

hifinutt

hifinutt
Well ... bad news if anyone wanted a grant !!

Motoring and car industry groups have criticised the government's decision to end grants worth £1,500 towards buying electric cars.

The Department for Transport said the plug-in subsidy scheme was being closed with immediate effect.

It said funding would now be "refocussed" towards improving electric vehicle charging.

But the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the move "sends the wrong message".

The RAC motoring group also warned the decision could "stifle" the ambition to shift most people into electric cars.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61795693
 
There's some logic to this, if they do what they say they're doing. EVs are expensive, so a £1500 grant isn't really going to tip the buying decision one way or the other. If you're considering an EV, you're already reconciled to an expensive purchase (but likely low running costs). What is preventing more people from going EV now, IMHO, is the poor charging infrastructure. Address that and you're likely to get greater adoption of EVs than by subbing all purchases a couple of months' lease payments.
 
don't forget only EVs under £32k were eligible. I don't know how many EV sales met that eligibility characteristic.
 
1500 equates to roughly 30 pounds a month on a 4 year pcp which for some makes a difference added to the government scrapping the contribution to home chargers. Quite a few electric cars under 32k:

MG
Leaf
Zoe
Corsa
Fiat 500
VW up or polo
Smartcar
 
Rodrat said:
1500 equates to roughly 30 pounds a month on a 4 year pcp which for some makes a difference added to the government scrapping the contribution to home chargers. Quite a few electric cars under 32k:

MG
Leaf
Zoe
Corsa
Fiat 500
VW up or polo
Smartcar
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Yes, I said 'limited choice, not 'zero choice'. Not much on that list that would suit me.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Yes, I said 'limited choice, not 'zero choice'. Not much on that list that would suit me.
Click to expand...

I’d imagine a Zoe would do you well if an A2 was big enough. They’re surprisingly roomy, I’m getting over 200 miles out of mine in summer, it’s a bit less in winter.
 
I had a look at the MG and thought it was good value and whilst a bit plastically inside I could live with one.
 
lordsummit said:
I’d imagine a Zoe would do you well if an A2 was big enough. They’re surprisingly roomy, I’m getting over 200 miles out of mine in summer, it’s a bit less in winter.
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The A2 has been replaced by a Volvo V60, largely because it wasn't big enough, some of the time. Enough of the time to relegate the A2 to secondary roles, unfortunately. But it's not just about the size, it's also about the whole use experience. The Audi and the Volvo both have very nice interiors. Not a fan of the Zoe interior. My brother has a Zoe. It makes a 4.5 hour trip between their place in Suffolk and ours in Manchester into a 7-8 hour trip due to range/charging considerations. Admittedly, it's the original version and later versions have more range, but it'd still require at least one recharging stop.
 
Good Afternoon All,

There needs to be a deal more serious thought given to EV charging IMHO.

The UK infrastructure is in no position to support mass charging of EV's by day........ There is no discussion about this it is a simple fact.

We've just cancelled shutting a coal fired power station down until April 2023 to keep the lights on this winter.

Regards

Richard
 
Richard Lines said:
Good Afternoon All,

There needs to be a deal more serious thought given to EV charging IMHO.

The UK infrastructure is in no position to support mass charging of EV's by day........ There is no discussion about this it is a simple fact.

We've just cancelled shutting a coal fired power station down until April 2023 to keep the lights on this winter.

Regards

Richard
Click to expand...
Neither was there the infrastructure to cope with mass ownership of ICE vehicles 100 years ago. The change to EVs will be incremental, the same goes for charging capability.
 
kensalriser said:
The change to EVs will be incremental, the same goes for charging capability.
Click to expand...

The problem is that the PTB's response to the fact that a significant percentage of households don't/ won't have access to a charge point is to install more in public places and workplaces which encourages daytime charging. There is absolutely no evidence I'm aware of that there is a cohesive plan to deal with this.

I speak as somebody who has owned an EV for over 4yrs.

Regards

Richard
 
davidsrsb said:
There is no need for the grant when current petrol prices have changed the payback economics drasically
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Given the higher purchase price for EV's with commensurate increased PCP terms and the increases in charging costs at public chargers following recent underlying electrickery charges and more imminent I'm not sure the economic argument will be made for all.

Most of my charging is done at home and costs me 5p per kWh on Octopus Go which is considerably less than I guess folks down in the SE of the UK will be paying at a public charger.

Regards

Richard
 
Richard Lines said:
Given the higher purchase price for EV's with commensurate increased PCP terms and the increases in charging costs at public chargers following recent underlying electrickery charges and more imminent I'm not sure the economic argument will be made for all.
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But from what I can see, residuals for EVs, in particular for more modern EVs, seem pretty strong. That's going to help the PCP monthlies.
 
davidsrsb said:
There is no need for the grant when current petrol prices have changed the payback economics drasically
Click to expand...

Mind you, the increasing cost of electricity and inevitable taxes once mass adoption is achieved will make it a zero sum game I suspect, financially at least. I’ve just come back from the supermarket, on one stretch of (quiet) road I saw 4 Tesla model 3’s in a row. This is purely driven by the low BIK tax break for companies at the moment.
 
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