On 16 July 2025, the UK Government will roll out a revived Electric Car Grant scheme, backed by a £650 million fund, to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. The initiative is designed to address one of the primary barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption: upfront affordability.

Grant Details

The new scheme will offer up to £3,750 off the price of eligible new electric cars. To qualify, vehicles must be priced at £37,000 or less and meet strict environmental criteria. The discount will be applied at the point of sale, allowing buyers to benefit immediately as soon as manufacturers receive approval for their EVs under the scheme.

Find out more about the EV Grant

While the new Electric Car Grant aims to boost access to affordable EVs, it is already generating debate. Some of the most competitively priced electric vehicles, particularly those from Chinese manufacturers, may not meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme on Wednesday (July 16), Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood stated:

“The grant is restricted to those manufacturers that reach minimum environmental standards, and, frankly, if you generate a lot of the electricity that powers your factory through coal power stations, then you are not going to be able to access this grant.”

This suggests that those with production operations in China could be excluded from the grant due to the region’s ongoing reliance on coal-powered energy for vehicle assembly and battery manufacturing.

In response, some manufacturers are taking independent action to remain competitive, adjusting their pricing strategies to align with the grant’s price cap, even without official participation.

So far, three manufacturers have launched their own ‘grants’:

• On Monday, GWM UK introduced a £3,750 ‘green grant’ for retail customers purchasing the all-electric Ora 03, find out more.

• Leapmotor followed by applying price cuts to both the T03 and C10, read more.

• MG has now confirmed a £1,500 grant for private buyers of its MG4 EV and MGS5, read press release.

We're yet to know which Manufacturers have applied for the offical Electric Car Grant scheme, these manufacturers are finding creative ways to keep their EVs affordable for UK drivers.