Electric Car Grant UK 2026: £3,750 or £1,500 Off an EV

Electric Car Grant at a Glance

The government has committed about £2 billion to the Electric Car Grant: £650 million at its launch on 16 July 2025 and £1.3 billion more at the November 2025 Budget. Here's how it works, from the GOV.UK pages.

Case in point: GOV.UK's December 2025 announcement added the MINI Countryman, Renault 4, Renault 5 and Alpine A290 to the top band, so from 3 December 2025 a buyer of one of those cars could get the full £3,750 off.

Sources: GOV.UK zero emission vehicle grants page, Electric Car Grant eligibility guidance, Using the Electric Car Grant portal (updated 14 October 2026), and the CMA Subsidy Advice Unit referral page.

Where the end date comes from. The July 2025 launch statement said funding ran until the 2028 to 2029 financial year. The government's December 2025 announcement said the £1.3 billion would extend the grant "to 2030", and the scheme description OZEV gave the CMA's Subsidy Advice Unit in February 2026 says it will continue "until the end of the 2029 to 2030 financial year, or until budgets are exhausted". The later statement is the one to rely on, with the warning that early closure is possible.

How Much You Get: Band 1 vs Band 2

The band is set by how the car is made, not by your income. According to GOV.UK, the £3,750 band goes to cars with the lowest carbon emission scores, judged on the carbon intensity of the electricity grid where the car is assembled and its battery cells are made. Manufacturers also need a verified science-based climate target or a high rating in the Transition Pathway Initiative assessment.

GOV.UK's list, as read on 29 October 2026, has 68 entries: 20 in Band 1 and 48 in Band 2 (some entries cover several versions of a model).

Source: GOV.UK, Zero emission vehicles eligible for a grant, cars section, read 29 October 2026. The list changes as models are added or withdrawn; check it on the day you order.

Two details catch buyers out. First, the band can differ between versions of the same model: the Renault 5 with the 52 kWh battery is in Band 1, the 40 kWh version in Band 2, and the Kia EV2 and Nissan Micra split the same way. Second, a model that moves into a higher band later doesn't help you if you've already ordered: GOV.UK's portal guidance says the grant is always the amount available on the date of purchase, and cancelling and re-ordering to get a higher band counts as fraudulent behaviour.

The £37,000 Price Rule, Explained

The price cap is the rule people underestimate most. GOV.UK's portal guidance uses 2 different prices:

The eligibility price (£37,000). This is the manufacturer's recommended retail price, including VAT, mandatory extras such as delivery or admin fees, and the battery. Where a model comes with different battery or motor setups, each setup is judged by the RRP of its cheapest version. GOV.UK's own example: if a 50 kWh version starts at £35,000 and a 60 kWh version at £40,000, every 50 kWh variant can qualify and no 60 kWh variant can.

The purchase price (£42,000 maximum). This is what you'd actually pay without the grant, including paint, roof boxes, tow bars, number plates and first licence, minus any dealer or manufacturer discount. GOV.UK says orders with a purchase price over £42,000 are rejected. Insurance, warranties, delivery and the first registration fee don't count, and nor do extras such as a charging cable or home charger bought at the same time.

The order of discounts matters. According to GOV.UK, any dealer or manufacturer discount must come off first, and the grant is applied after that. Your invoice should list the price, the discount, the grant amount and the final price separately. If the grant isn't shown as its own line, ask why.

Timing protects you. GOV.UK says an order placed on the grant portal for a named customer is guaranteed the grant level advertised at that time, as long as the car is registered and delivered within 9 months. The dealer must put the order on the portal before the car is registered, and not on the same day. Ask the dealer to confirm the order is on the portal when you sign.

Grantsights Analysis: Which EVs Britain Is Actually Buying

The two best-selling electric cars in the UK aren't on the grant list. Grantsights analysis of DfT table VEH0181 shows that between July 2025 and June 2026, the first 12 months of the grant, 533,094 new battery electric cars were registered in the UK. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 alone accounted for 50,533 of them (9.5%), and neither model appears on GOV.UK's eligible list.

Grantsights analysis of DfT Vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0181 (battery electric cars by generic model, UK, 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2), compared with GOV.UK's eligible list on 29 October 2026. Registration counts cover every version of a model line, including versions above the price cap.

At least 11 of the model lines in DfT's top 25 have a grant-listed version. Those 11 (the 8 in the table plus the Volkswagen ID.4, Cupra Born and Hyundai Kona) made up 128,161 registrations, about 24% of the year's battery electric cars. Not every one of those sales got the grant, because some were company cars, fleet sales or versions above the cap.

The market has grown fast all the same. According to DfT, 147,185 new battery electric cars were registered in April to June 2026, up 40.5% on a year earlier, and quarterly registrations were higher in each quarter after the grant launched than in the same quarter a year before. The grant isn't the only reason, since manufacturers also face the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, but government statements put grant users at more than 40,000 by 3 December 2025, more than 80,000 by 25 March 2026 and more than 190,000 by 28 October 2026.

What this means for buyers: the grant shapes the cheaper end of the market, and it's worth it only if the car you want is on the list. If your shortlist is a Tesla, BYD or Audi, there's no grant to wait for. If it's a Renault, Ford, Kia, Skoda, Vauxhall or Volkswagen, check the exact version against the list before you negotiate.

Where Households Are Going Electric: Grantsights Analysis by Region

Northern Ireland has the lowest share of privately owned electric cars in the UK, despite being covered by the grant. Grantsights analysis of DfT tables VEH0142 and VEH0105 compares battery electric cars kept by private individuals with all privately kept cars in each nation and region at the end of June 2026. Company cars are left out because they're registered to a company's address, which distorts regional figures.

Grantsights analysis of DfT Vehicle licensing statistics, tables VEH0142 (licensed plug-in vehicles by keepership and area) and VEH0105 (licensed vehicles by keepership and area), end of June 2026 and end of June 2025. Cars are allocated to the registered keeper's postcode.

Two patterns stand out. The North of England and the Midlands are catching up fastest, with private electric car numbers up by more than half in a year, while London's growth has slowed to 22%. And private EV ownership in Northern Ireland is less than half the UK rate, which is worth knowing if you live there: the grant applies, but you'll have fewer local dealers and public chargers to choose from.

Vans, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, Trucks and Motability

GOV.UK lists 4 kinds of vehicle grant, and the 3 apart from cars work differently: they're a percentage discount with a cap.

Source: GOV.UK, Zero emission vehicles eligible for a grant, read 29 October 2026. GOV.UK notes there's a limited number of van and wheelchair accessible vehicle grants.

The wheelchair accessible vehicle grant can be the bigger saving for disabled drivers: 35% up to £2,500 on a converted vehicle such as a Citroën e-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Rifter or Kia PV5 Passenger. The conversion cost itself doesn't count towards the price limit. For adapting your home rather than your vehicle, see our Disabled Facilities Grant guide.

Motability. The Motability Scheme lets people on the enhanced mobility rate of PIP, the higher rate mobility component of DLA and some other payments lease a car, as GOV.UK's financial help if you're disabled page (opens in a new tab) explains. GOV.UK's portal guidance asks dealers to record Motability orders as lease orders, with the disabled customer, not Motability, as the named end customer.

Motorcycles. GOV.UK's current grant page lists cars, vans, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles only, so there's no plug-in motorcycle or moped grant to claim at the time of writing.

Sole traders buying a van should also read our start-up grants UK guide for other help with setting up.

Chargepoint Grants for Renters, Flat Owners and On-Street Parking

OZEV's home chargepoint grants rose from £350 to £500 per socket on 1 April 2026 and run until 31 March 2027, which GOV.UK describes as a final year. There are 2 grants for households:

• Renters and flat owners: up to £500 if you own and live in a flat, or rent any home, and have a private off-street parking space you can use at all times. GOV.UK's renters and flat owners page (opens in a new tab) says you also need an eligible vehicle (owned, leased for at least 6 months, used as a work vehicle for 6 months, or on order), your landlord's or freeholder's written permission and an OZEV-authorised installer.
• Households with on-street parking only: up to £500 if you own or rent the home and install a cross-pavement solution such as a charging gully. Since 21 October 2026, according to GOV.UK, qualifying cross-pavement chargers no longer need planning permission, which the government says saves up to £300.

Who can't get it: homeowners living in a house with a driveway, lodgers, people about to move, and anyone who's already had this grant or its predecessors. GOV.UK estimates that OZEV takes up to 10 working days to assess an application, and the chargepoint must not be installed before you're told you're eligible. Installing first is the common mistake that loses the grant.

Landlords can claim up to £500 per socket for up to 200 sockets, and businesses up to £500 per socket for up to 40 through the Workplace Charging Scheme, per GOV.UK's chargepoint grants overview (opens in a new tab).

Scotland: the Energy Saving Trust's domestic charge point grant, funded by Transport Scotland, pays up to £400 to households in rural or remote areas (Scottish Government urban rural classes 5 to 8) with an EV and household income of £50,000 or less. It says decisions come within 8 working days and installation must wait for the offer letter. Scotland's interest-free used electric vehicle loan has closed and won't reopen, per the Energy Saving Trust page last updated 3 June 2026; a Scottish Government FOI response (opens in a new tab) shows it made 767 loans in 2025 to 2026.

If you're pairing an EV with solar panels to charge from your own roof, see our solar panel grants UK guide, and for heat pumps, our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide.

What GOV.UK Doesn't Tell You About the Electric Car Grant

GOV.UK's pages are written for dealers as much as buyers. Here's what they mean for you in practice.

The grant isn't on top of every discount; it's after them. Dealers must apply their own discounts first and the grant last, so compare the final invoice price, not the headline "£3,750 off" banner. A dealer quoting a bigger discount on a non-listed car may still be the better deal.

"Up to" means up to. GOV.UK describes £3,750 and £1,500 as the maximum discounts for each band, and the dealer sets the price the grant comes off. Get written quotes from 2 dealers and compare the final figure.

Company and fleet buyers lost out in July 2026. Since 17 July 2026, GOV.UK's portal guidance says the end customer must be a named individual, not a dealership, manufacturer or business. If you're a sole trader or company buying a car, check with the dealer before you assume the grant applies; leases still qualify when the named driver is the lease company's customer.

Demo cars are out. The same July 2026 change removed demonstration orders, so an ex-demo car registered to a dealer won't carry the grant.

The budget can run out. The government says the scheme may close early if funds are exhausted, and grant levels "are liable to change with no notice". There's no published counter of money left, so if a listed car suits you, waiting for a better deal is a risk.

Running costs are changing too. Budget 2026 confirmed that Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, a mileage-based charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, starts in April 2028. Factor that into any long lease or loan.

How to Get the Grant: 5 Steps

There's no application, but 5 checks make sure you get it:

1. Check the exact version on GOV.UK's eligible vehicle list (opens in a new tab) on the day you order, including battery size.
2. Check the price. The RRP of that setup must be £37,000 or less, and your purchase price, with options, no more than £42,000.
3. Ask the dealer to put your order on the grant portal when you sign, in your own name. That locks in the grant level for 9 months.
4. Read the invoice. It should show the price, any discount, the grant as a separate line and the final price.
5. Take delivery within 9 months. If the car will take longer, ask in writing what happens to the grant.

If something goes wrong, the dealer deals with the government, not you: GOV.UK tells dealers to contact their manufacturer, and grants are paid to manufacturers, who pay dealers. Raise problems with the dealer first, then the manufacturer.

For other help with household costs while you make the switch, our Warm Home Discount guide covers the £150 winter electricity rebate.

Sources Checked

All sources were read or downloaded on 29 October 2026:

• GOV.UK, Zero emission vehicles eligible for a grant (opens in a new tab) (cars, vans, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles)
• GOV.UK, How to apply for vehicle eligibility for the Electric Car Grant (opens in a new tab) (updated 1 April 2026)
• GOV.UK, Using the Electric Car Grant portal (opens in a new tab) (updated 14 October 2026) and Apply for a zero emission vehicle grant (opens in a new tab)
• Department for Transport, Electric Car Grant launched (opens in a new tab) (15 July 2025); Four more EV models qualify for £3,750 discount (opens in a new tab) (3 December 2025); £1 billion to cut costs for businesses (opens in a new tab) (25 March 2026); Drivers to save up to £300 when installing EV chargers at home (opens in a new tab) (21 October 2026); Cutting electric vehicle charging costs (opens in a new tab) (28 October 2026)
• Competition and Markets Authority, Referral of the proposed Electric Car Grant subsidy scheme (opens in a new tab) (final report 24 March 2026)
• HM Treasury, Budget 2026 (opens in a new tab) (28 October 2026), Electric Vehicle Excise Duty and EV charging measures
• Department for Transport, Vehicle licensing statistics: April to June 2026 (opens in a new tab) and data tables (opens in a new tab) VEH0105, VEH0142 and VEH0181
• GOV.UK, Electric vehicle chargepoint grants (opens in a new tab), Changes to electric vehicle chargepoint grant schemes from 1 April 2026 (opens in a new tab) and Electric vehicle chargepoint grant for renters or flat owners (opens in a new tab)
• GOV.UK, Financial help if you're disabled (opens in a new tab) (Motability Scheme)
• Energy Saving Trust, Domestic charge point funding (Scotland) and Used electric vehicle loan (Scotland), read through Internet Archive copies of 20 October and 15 October 2026
• Scottish Government, FOI response on the Used Electric Vehicle Loan Scheme (opens in a new tab)