No cars available for full Electric Car Grant nearly a month after launch
The grant was launched on July 16 and offers a two-tier discount scheme for electric cars under £37,000.
'Band 1' cars get the full £3,750 relief and 'Band 2' models receive a reduced £1,500 rate.
As of today (Aug 14), only 17 cars are available for Electric Car Grants and all of them are in Band 2. The new Nissan Leaf will be eligible for the full £3,750 grant, but it is not yet on sale.
Car dealers say this is stalling sales of EVs in showrooms as customers hold off purchases to see if their model will be offered a discount.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said new car sales in July were down five per cent and blamed 'external factors'. Chief Mike Hawes called for 'consumer certainty' around the grant.
Neil McCue, director of the large South Coast-based franchised car dealer group Snows, branded the grant 'ill thought out'.
He said: 'We have seen customers holding off buying electric cars in July and we're seeing it again in August. They're all asking for their £3,750 discount and we can't give it to them.
'Why has this been so complicated? It shouldn't have been linked to emissions for manufacturing – the idea here was to boost the sales of EVs and you can only do that with a simple scheme that covers them all.'
Peter Smyth, director of car dealer group Swansway, called the scheme 'shambolic' and said it was causing 'too much confusion' in showrooms.
He added: 'There should have been a simple VAT cut on all electric cars under £37,000 which would have been simple to implement and importantly available from the day of launch.'
The Electric Car Grant discounts are linked to the eco credentials of the manufacturing process with 'Science-Based Targets' used to decide which band the cars sit in. These look at the emissions emitted by car makers when producing the batteries and the vehicles.
James Baggott, editor of Car Dealer Magazine, said: 'We are hearing from dealers across the country that this scheme is having the opposite effect of what the government intended. The delay in announcing eligible cars is causing electric car sales to stall.
'While we applaud the government for finally doing something to incentivise electric car sales, the details of this scheme really should have been hammered out behind closed doors before it was announced to avoid the confusion we're now facing.'
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'We expect dozens of models to be eligible for the Electric Car Grant with 17 models announced to date and many more to come, providing a substantial boost for the industry and saving drivers thousands of pounds.
'The list of eligible models is published online and regularly updated with discounts available for the public at dealerships.
'We have also published comprehensive guidance for manufacturers who we will continue to work with alongside dealers to help more of their customers access the grant.'
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