Government grant cut

[scratch113]

Oh dear!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56441639

Hope that isn't going to affect anyone who already has an order placed - many will now be over the £35k limit, so effectively stung for an additional £3k.
I kind of guessed the grant might reduce over time, but it seems a bit of a kick in the teeth for those willing to take the plunge into fully electric motoring.

Typical Government short-sightedness, much like encouraging everyone into diesel over the two decades or so up to a couple of years ago and then perform a U-turn and demonize those same buyers because of diesel emissions.

Ho hum...

[bloggsy]

Yeah - just seen this and thought the same I'd geared up, ready for the Sportline but I'm not paying an extra £3K on a model that is already £4K above what I had planned to spend on another car!

Shame - the Sportline looks amazing

Cheers

Bloggsy

[scratch113]

I was also looking at an Enyaq 80x Sportline and was hoping to keep it under £50k with a few options as that was the previous limit for the grant.

I might have to re-assess now, although I'm in no rush as I've still got nearly 2 years on my current PCP and I'll just keep on pumping out the CO2 and particulates from my gas-guzzling and evil diesel Kodiaq Sportline instead!

Presumably that's what the Government want me to do???

[RichR]

Afraid this puts the Enyaq out of my budget too. I guess I'll be sticking with my Outlander PHEV for a few years more until I can save up the extra to make the move to full electric.

[metalmadhammer]

Is it granted upon delivery or purchase and when does the rate change?.
I'm not so sure this news is such a bad thing given the immature charging network and I don't see why the tax payer should provide for the middle classes to buy expensive tech cars. I also think think we all know the environmental benefits are dubious at best.
I only have an electric as a company car for the tax benefit and free electricity and I believe my company has subsidised some of the capital cost which again isn't fair to those who aren't lucky enough to have a company car.
I never understood why diesels where promoted by the government by way of cheaper tax. I always knew diesels are bad for the environment, I thought it was quite obvious, anyone who has driven behind them can testify. Electrics will get cheaper in time as the battery costs will reduce via mass production so unless your company pays for the car, it doesn't make economical sense. I can see the limit in 2030 getting pushed back to allow the charging network and electric generation to catch up.

[RichR]

I just saved up for a bit longer since that post I made back in March. Now happily driving around in my Enyaq

The grant did what it needed to do - stimulate a market for EVs, and it's achieved that. And yes, cheaper EVs are now starting to appear on the market because there's now sufficient demand and the major manufacturers are reacting to that. Other countries have withdrawn or scaled back their subsidies too. In Norway, virtually all car sales are EV now (<5% are petrol/diesel).

[MikeJL]

Is it granted upon delivery or purchase and when does the rate change?.
…

It can be (is) claimed when order placed & takes effect immediately. Dealers are able to register any sales made in the last seven day s at the old rates, but new sales going forward will only benefit from the new figures. I haven’t checked but I think IV60 now too expensive to qualify? If so, will be interesting to see if Skoda tweak the basic spec & reduce the price to get under the new limit.

[Chris__M]

I was wondering if it might bring the iV50 onto the UK market.

[Chris__M]

Obviously a blow for anyone who hasn't yet purchased and was relying on the grant.

But I do like that more emphasis (and more grant) is being given to money for wheelchair-adaptable EVs. I do think that is a decent priority.

[RichR]

There are more and more sub-£30,000 EVs coming onto the market, and certainly once the floodgates open for the Chinese manufacturers other than MG (ie SAIC), such as BYD, Ora etc there should be plenty of choice in that area in a couple of years in addition to what VAG, Stellantis and Renault/Nissan brands have out.

The conditions also mean no grant for PHEVs any more (70 mile minimum is more than I think any PHEV can do). But I guess BEVs are at the point where most PHEV models have a direct BEV equivalent, or will do soon (for example Kia's full size 4x4 expected in the next year).