Latest news with #grantscheme
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
What we know about electric car grants worth £1,500 as first eligible EV models confirmed
The government has unveiled a series of Citroen models eligible under the government's new £650 million electric car grants scheme. The first electric car models eligible for the government's new £650 million electric car grants have been announced. Drivers will be able to save £1,500 with the purchase of new Citroen e-C3, e-C4, e-C5 and e-Berlingo cars, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. The discount will be automatically applied at the point of sale, and will enable motorists purchasing a new electric car to save either £1,500 or £3,750, depending on sustainability criteria. The government's vow to make it cheaper to buy an electric car comes as part of its goal of banning the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'With the first four models approved today, and more to come over the next few weeks, this summer we're making owning an electric car cheaper, easier and a reality for thousands more people across the UK." Under the government's zero emission vehicle (Zev) mandate, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission, which generally means pure electric. Across all manufacturers, the figure during the first half of the year was 21.6%. Alexander has already announced £63m worth of funding to boost charging infrastructure, including £25m of support for local authorities to provide at-home charging for motorists who don't have driveways. Another £8m will be spent on powering electric ambulances and medical fleets across 200 sites within the NHS, while road signs for EV charging hubs will be introduced on major A-roads in England. What do we know about the new subsidies for EV drivers? The grants will be funded through a new £650m scheme announced on 14 July, which will be restricted to vehicles priced up to £37,000. The Department for Transport (DfT) said at the time that 23 new models were available for less than £30,000. Amounts given will be based on a car's 'sustainability criteria', the DfT said, with the greenest vehicles placed in band one, meaning a grant of up to £3,750. Band two vehicles will receive up to £1,500. Edmund King, AA president, said: 'This discount of £1,500 for some more affordable EVs will help a number of those with tighter budgets. We look forward to seeing the full list of discounts up to £3,750 on more models to really push the market forward.' Ian Plummer, commercial director of online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, previously said 'any incentives' to help people buy an electric car are welcome as many drivers are 'put off by the high upfront cost'. Prior to the government's announcement, The Telegraph reported that the grants would provide a huge boost for Nissan, which has a plant in Sunderland, but would be unlikely to help Tesla, whose cars are generally beyond the scheme's price range. How many people are buying EVs? In the first half of this year, electric car sales in the UK increased by a third, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMTT) lobby group. Sales of battery electric cars rose by 34.6% to 224,838 vehicles between the start of January and the end of June. Of the 191,200 cars sold in the UK in June, a quarter (almost 47,400) were electric vehicles. The government wants to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 onwards, although hybrids can be sold until 2035. It says all new cars and vans will have to be 100% zero emission by 2035. How much more expensive are electric cars to buy? The average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is currently about £46,000, according to financial researchers NimbleFins, although it says that prices range from £14,995 (for a Dacia Spring Electric) to as much as £330,000 for a Rolls-Royce Spectre. Among luxury electric brands such as Tesla, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes, the average cost is about £69,000, while a non-luxury EV is about £33,000 on average. NimbleFins said the cost of an average small car is about £22,000, rising to £27,000 for a medium-sized car and £35,000 for an SUV, inclusive of petrol and electric models. The Electric Car Scheme says the average petrol car costs £21,964, compared to about £49,000 for an EV. How much do electric vehicles cost to run? The average cost of running a car in the UK is £3,357, according to NimbleFins. This includes fuel, car insurance, repairs, road tax and the purchase or depreciation per year. It said that despite electricity prices currently being high, fuel costs much less with an EV than a petrol or diesel engine. The average cost for a mile of driving is about 7p on a standard electricity tariff or as low as 2p per mile on a time of use EV tariff, charging the vehicle at off-peak times, such as during the night. For a petrol or diesel car, NimbleFins says the cost of fuel per mile can be anything between 13p and 17p. The Electric Car Scheme says drivers of EVs can save up to £1,500 per year over 10,000 miles in fuel costs than with a petrol or diesel. Read more Major problem with plan to let EV drivers charge outside their homes (BristolLive) China's electric car revolution hammers demand for oil (The Telegraph) Volkswagen reports electric vehicles sales surge in 2025 (DW)
Telegraph
26-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Vauxhall owner risks exclusion from Labour electric car scheme
The owner of Vauxhall risks being excluded from Labour's electric vehicle (EV) grant scheme over its reliance on Polish factories. Stellantis, which owns brands including Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat, is among several car manufacturers scrambling to demonstrate their eco-credentials in a bid to qualify for new government subsidies. But it is understood some of the company's cars may miss out on £3,750 grants offered by ministers because they are made in Poland and risk falling foul of net zero rules. Under the scheme, vehicles put forward by manufacturers will be scored based on how green their production processes are. Those with the highest scores risk being excluded or only receiving a smaller payment of £1,500. Carmakers must also prove they are signed up to 'science-based targets' to cut their carbon emissions, in line with net zero targets. Ministers have already warned that Chinese-made cars are likely to be blocked from receiving grants for these reasons. China is the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter, largely because of its huge consumption of coal for power generation. But car industry insiders have warned the scheme's rules may also create a headache for Western manufacturers with operations in Poland because of the European country's similarly high dependence on coal. Like China, roughly 60pc of Poland's electricity is generated by burning the fuel. Both countries generate about 7.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita overall, according to the International Energy Agency. The Government's grant scheme will assess carmakers on where they assemble EVs as well as where their EV batteries are produced. A 30pc weighting will be given to the former and a 70pc weighting to the latter, according to a briefing seen by The Telegraph. It means some carmakers – including Stellantis – may be penalised for their dependence on Poland, which has attracted huge investment from the car industry and is also Europe's biggest supplier of batteries. Electric models made by Stellantis at its plant in Tychy, in southern Poland, include the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica and the Abarth 600e. Until earlier this year, the company also made the Leapmotor T03 there through a joint venture. It is not clear where Stellantis sources batteries for the cars made in Tychy but in addition to using its own battery joint venture in France, the company is understood to rely on a supplier based in China as well. Several other major car companies also rely on China for supplies, as well as on an LG Energy Solutions plant based in Wrocław, Poland, which is Europe's biggest battery factory. Ginny Buckley, chief executive of an electric car advice service, said: 'Poland may be Europe's EV battery powerhouse – second only to China globally – but its coal-heavy energy mix could mean its batteries will be excluded from the new electric car grants, as under the Government's strict environmental criteria only EVs with low-carbon supply chains qualify. 'It's a move that risks punishing carmakers working to establish European supply chains and limiting consumer choice.' Uncertainty about whether certain cars will qualify for Britain's EV grant scheme has prompted complaints from car industry executives, who say it has made it harder to plan their marketing strategies for August and September. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, warned this week that manufacturers had been left trying to peer through 'a fog'. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers such as BYD have already started slashing their UK car prices, in a defensive measure to compensate for their exclusion. Dan Caesar, chief executive of campaign group Electric Vehicles UK, said: 'Some [carmakers] know that they're unlikely to be eligible and are proactively discounting ahead of time, while those that are applying will not be able to act as immediately.' A Whitehall source acknowledged the grant scheme rules could block some cars made by Western manufacturers but cautioned that officials could not say for certain until manufacturers applied to join the scheme. 'We want as many models as possible to qualify for these grants, but the scheme has been intentionally designed to incentivise the greenest possible manufacturing,' they said. 'There will be ways that companies that manufacture in different places, and through different means, can work with us to ensure they are still included.' A Stellantis spokesman said: 'Stellantis welcomes the Government's support to increase the sales of more affordable electric vehicles. 'This is something that we have been asking for. We are making the necessary grant applications for customers of our electric vehicles and are confident that a wide range of these, manufactured in our plants in the UK and Western Europe, will be eligible.'
BBC News
16-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Devon and Cornwall church repair concerns over grant changes
Fears have been raised over changes to a grant scheme that supports work on historic South West religious Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which since 2001 has allowed sites to claim back VAT on urgent repairs, has only been extended until March 2026 and had a cap of £25,000 per year introduced by the has raised concerns from people looking after venues in Devon and Cornwall about whether they would be able to afford future Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it been a "difficult decision" to make the changes but data suggested 94% of claims would be unaffected. Claire Walker, chief executive of the National Churches Trust, said the government scheme was a "lifeline" to many said: "It's not within the means of a congregation to find that extra money, so that could mean churches cannot stay wind and watertight and they can't keep themselves open." A fundraising campaign is taking place at St Grada Church on Cornwall's Lizard peninsula, which needs an estimated £450,000 worth of restoration work carried Elliot, who has been coming to the church for more than 50 years and is helping with the fundraising, said the main issue was parts of the roof falling Elliot said: "It is not going to fall under our watch, we have got to save it."The Church of St Philip & St James in Ilfracombe, which dates to 1856 and is now known as Pip and Jim's Church, is on Historic England's Heritage At Risk current phase of work to renovate its stonework is costing about £600, Reverend Mark Ruoff said the church was at the "heart of the people" of the town."It needs to be renewed and revived," Mr Ruoff added. A statement from DCMS said the changes were being implemented against a "tough financial background across the heritage and cultural sectors"."We made the difficult decision to implement an annual limit of £25,000 on the amount individual places of worship can claim in the coming year," a spokesperson said."We believe that this will continue the widest distribution of the scheme's benefits within the available means."The spokesperson added funding after March 2026 would be considered.
