The first cars to receive the UK government’s new Electric Car Grant (ECG) have been revealed – and one is already one of the cheapest EVs on the market.
The six have been deemed eligible for the £1500 grant (the lesser of the two) and all come from French manufacturer Citroën. They are the ë-C3, ë-C3 Aircross, ë-C4, ë-C4 X, ë-Berlingo and new ë-C5 Aircross.
In the case of the ë-C3, the ECG reduces the starting price to £20,595, which drops it below rivals such at the £21,035 Fiat Grande Panda Elettrica and the £21,950 BYD Dolphin Surf Boost (the bigger-battery version).
Only the smaller-battery Dolphin Surf Active (£18,650), Hyundai Inster (£19,755) and Leapmotor T03 (£14,495) offer a cheaper way into a new electric car in the UK, although the T03 offers 50 fewer miles of range.
Meanwhile, the ë-C3 Aircross now starts at £21,595; the ë-C4 at £26,150; the ë-C4 X at £27,215; the ë-Berlingo at £29,740; and the ë-C5 Aircross at £32,565.
Unlike with the previous Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG), buyers don’t need to register for the discount; the ECG is automatically applied to the sale price of the eligible EVs.
The government said details of other models to receive the grant – which is backed by £650 million of taxpayer funding – are expected to be released in the coming days and weeks.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This summer, we’re making owning an electric car cheaper, easier and a reality for thousands more people across the UK.”
Greg Taylor, MD of Citroën UK, said: “We welcome the support of the Electric Car Grant and are delighted to be the first to have our electric range approved and eligible.”
To qualify for the grant, car manufacturers must meet science-backed emissions targets, while the individual model lines must start at below £37,000 in entry-level trim.
Which discount a model receives (£1500 or £3750) is determined by their environmental impact: how much CO2 is emitted in an EV’s production and assessing the energy used in vehicle assembly as well as battery manufacturing. Threshold levels have yet to be made public.
While any manufacturer can apply for their car to be included in the scheme, it’s thought that, due to this criteria, cars produced in Asian countries will not be eligible for the ECG.