Up to £10k off EVs as makers slash prices to beat new grant
Announced earlier this month, the ECG has been introduced as a way of stimulating EV sales in the UK, following a period of stagnation since the previous government's Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) was pulled in 2022.
The new ECG, backed by £650 million of government funding, will yield a discount for qualifying cars of either £1500 or £3750, depending on their environmental impact.
To qualify, car manufacturers themselves 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 is determined by how much CO2 is emitted in an EV's production, 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, such as China, South Korea and Japan, will not be eligible for the ECG.
This would include cars from Hyundai, MG and GMW – all three of which have already launched their own equivalent discounts, likely pre-empting that their cars will be denied access to the ECG.
Below are the discounts already being offered by car makers as they await the results of the ECG applications.
Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica – the Italian marque's first EV – can now be had with £1500 off its list price. This leaves the Polish-made compact crossover retailing for £32,405.
GWM
Chinese firm Great Wall Motor has launched a £3750 grant for the Ora 03 hatchback. The MG 4 EV rival, which was previously named the Funky Cat, now costs just £21,245.
Hyundai
Hyundai is matching the government's incoming ECG by offering a discount of £3750 on its new Inster hatchback, bringing it down in price to £19,755. The prices of all its other EVs – such as the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric – have been slashed by £1500.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump showed ‘willingness' to move on whisky tariffs during meeting
US President Donald Trump has showed a 'willingness' to move on tariffs for Scotch whisky, John Swinney said. Scotland's First Minister met the President ahead of the opening of a second course at his Aberdeenshire golf club, where he pressed him on the 10% levy on Scotland's national drink. The tariff, it is believed, costs the sector £4 million per week, with distillery bosses keen to reach an agreement as part of the US-UK trade deal. Speaking to the PA news agency after the opening of the course, the First Minister said: 'I think there's a willingness for President Trump to look at the issues that I've set out to him. 'I don't think that was the position a few days ago, because I think President Trump was of the view that the trade deal was done and dusted and that was an end of the matter.' Mr Swinney told Mr Trump Scotch whisky was 'unique' to Scotland and the tariff was a 'significant impediment'. 'I think there is an opportunity for us to make progress,' he added. 'I wouldn't have expected to be able to get an outcome in the course of the discussion I had yesterday and this morning with President Trump, but we will follow this up with the US administration, follow up with the United Kingdom Government, to make the progress that I think Scotland would expect on this matter.' The president was asked about whisky tariffs by journalists at his Ayrshire golf course on Monday, where he appeared not to know there was an issue. 'We'll talk about that, I didn't know whisky was a problem,' Mr Trump said. 'I'm not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that the Prime Minister will not need much pressure to push the President on whisky tariffs. 'The great thing is, here, this is not a matter of putting pressure on the Prime Minister, because the Prime Minister already agrees and the Prime Minister recognises that we want to go even further on the deal we've already negotiated. 'It's a good deal for Scotland and the UK, but we want to go even further – and that's the conversations that continue.'
Auto Car
2 hours ago
- Auto Car
Maserati 'cancelled' the electric MC20 - but don't write it off for good...
The electric version of the Maserati MC20 supercar could still see the light of day if the market picks up, says Maserati, after it cancelled the model earlier this year, citing insufficient demand. Promising huge power and similar dynamics to those of the V6 car, the MC20 Folgore would have been the first electric supercar on sale – the circa-2000bhp Rimac Nevera, Pininfarina Battista and Lotus Evija meriting full-bore hypercar status. Its potentially seminal status was ultimately its downfall, though, with nothing comparable on sale against which it could be benchmarked. Maserati wasn't confident it would attract a sufficient number of buyers away from V6 and V8-engined alternatives to recoup the substantial development costs. Maserati CEO Santo Ficili stands by the decision and told Autocar: 'I don't think it's the right time to take this kind of supercar in the electrification direction.' But he added that the MC20 Folgore project was on pause, rather than cancelled, and the car could yet make production as the MCPura Folgore. 'Let's say we will see,' he said when asked if the firm's supercar could yet go electric. 'The project is [advanced], but we decided to wait to understand what is going to happen.' There are no immediate plans to begin development again. Ficili said: 'We have this fantastic [V6] engine that is to the satisfaction of our customers. We hold a different kind of power. This is our engine at this time.' He added that he did not have the 'crystal ball' to see when there will be a market for an electric supercar, and that it was crucial 'to have the customer ready to buy a car like this' before investing further. In the meantime, Ficili went as far as to suggest Maserati could launch a new ICE-powered, manual-shifting super-GT flagship, in partnership with Alfa Romeo. This would be likely to use the 3.0-litre twin-turbo Nettuno V6 that powers the MC20 and Granturismo. The firm's technical boss Davide Danesin Maserati engineering boss Davide Danesin said "there are still customers looking for pure mechanical cars,' because they have a 'bad feeling' about having a battery on board a supercar, due to the heightened complexity and extra weight it brings.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Trump showed ‘willingness' to move on whisky tariffs during meeting
Scotland's First Minister met the president ahead of the opening of a second course at his Aberdeenshire golf club, where he pressed him on the 10% levy on Scotland's national drink. The tariff, it is believed, costs the sector £4 million per week, with distillery bosses keen to reach an agreement as part of the US-UK trade deal. Speaking to the PA news agency after the opening of the course, the First Minister said: 'I think there's a willingness for President Trump to look at the issues that I've set out to him. 'I don't think that was the position a few days ago, because I think President Trump was of the view that the trade deal was done and dusted and that was an end of the matter.' Mr Swinney told Mr Trump Scotch whisky was 'unique' to Scotland and the tariff was a 'significant impediment'. 'I think there is an opportunity for us to make progress,' he added. 'I wouldn't have expected to be able to get an outcome in the course of the discussion I had yesterday and this morning with President Trump, but we will follow this up with the US administration, follow up with the United Kingdom Government, to make the progress that I think Scotland would expect on this matter.' The president was asked about whisky tariffs by journalists at his Ayrshire golf course on Monday, where he appeared not to know there was an issue. 'We'll talk about that, I didn't know whisky was a problem,' Mr Trump said. 'I'm not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.'
