The UK government’s Electric Car Grant has £650 million to give to drivers between now and April 2029, as it attempts to address the carbon footprint of the private transport sector.
Although in relative terms, £650 million is a drop in the ocean compared to total government spending, for individuals (or companies) buying new electric vehicles it means between £1,000 and £3,750 off each car bought new. The grant, which comes in the form of a discount against a new vehicle’s sticker price, applies to EVs costing up to £37,000, with those cars that are most environmentally friendly getting the largest reductions.
The government scheme is a precursor to the phasing out of the sales of full petrol or diesel vehicles, which is due to come into effect in five years’ time. The government is clearly keen to get as many electric car drivers on the roads as quickly as possible – the greater the number of all-electric vehicles, the greater the demand for (and therefore, supply of) charging infrastructure, plus the myriad environmental benefits accrued from cutting back on fossil fuel consumption.
The grants were available to car dealerships as of last week, with the first affected models hitting the showrooms any time now. Any car manufacturer can apply for the grants as long as each model proposed meets the ZEV (zero emission vehicle) requirements.
At present in the UK, new car registrations for all-electric vehicles stand at 21% of the total, short of the government’s target of 28%, so the new incentives will, the government hopes, take the statistics in the desired direction, ahead of net zero promise deadlines.
One of the reasons for the relatively slow uptake for EVs is the lack of facilities for many UK households to charge their cars at home. Terraced housing, blocks of flats, and enforced on-street parking have been factors that mean EV drivers have had to use the more-expensive public charging facilities, rather than plugging in at home to take advantage of relatively lower electricity costs.
There are several initiatives that make on-street charging accessible to a new generation of EV drivers, such as cross-pavement gully charging cables, but these tend to be available subject to something of a postcode lottery. Different local councils in the UK have different schemes, costs, and incentives, affecting the ease with which drivers can get charge to their electric vehicles.
Funding for councils to provide on-street charging for households without off-street charging capability comes from a variety of sources, including the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund via the Energy Saving Trust (EST), and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV).
Other factors at play when drivers and companies consider all-electric options include existing charging infrastructure, limitations on vehicle range, and typical commuting distances. For many drivers, it can still make more sense to opt for a hybrid or all-fossil vehicle until the status quo between the ease of access to power or fuel is achieved.
Team Energy offers an EV calculator on its website that helps would-be EV purchasers decide between their options. It asks about commute distances, whether at-home charging is present, and whether or not an employer offers free charging for employees, among other questions, Participants are then given an EV suitability score that will help them decide on the best choice for their specific circumstances, with results given as projected annual savings or extra costs involved in going all-electric.
(Image source: “Electric car charger” by Janitors is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)
