Plug-in car grant gets 18-month extension

The Government has temporarily extended the UK plug-in car grant in the face of supply chain issues. This will mean that electric cars that have been delayed will still be eligible for the grant but its is still not available to new customers. 

In a statement, the Department for Transport (DfT) said: “We have temporarily extended the plug-in vehicle grant delivery period in recognition of the continuing delays in manufacturing supply chains, due to ongoing semiconductor shortages and the conflict in Ukraine.”

The extension covers all grants logged on the system during an 18-month period 14 June 2021 and 31 March 2023. The DfT added that it would continue to work with the automotive industry to monitor supply chain issues.

The DfT emphasised that the extension does not relate to the consumer window for applying - merely the window the industry has for fulfilling orders made through the scheme.

The DfT announced it was axing the plug-in car grant back in June 2022. The scheme allowed electric car buyers can claim up to a maximum of £1,500 on an EV costing no more than £32,000.

The grant has helped increase the sales of fully electric cars from less than 1,000 in the whole of 2011 to 137,498 in the first eight months of 2022 alone. Electric car sales have risen 70 per cent in the last year and now make up one in six new cars sold in the UK.

The decision to axe the grant back in June wasn’t well received by the industry, with concerns it would slow the rate at which new and used EVs became more affordable for drivers.

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