By now, you’ve probably heard the news that the UK government intends to end the sale of all non-electric cars by 2035. We know that 14 years sounds like a long time, but we promise it’ll go by in a flash! And this is 5 years ahead of the previous commitment from the Government! It also means that hybrid vehicles will be banned from sale too, leaving electric cars as the only option.
At the moment, there are around 2.3 million passenger cars sold in the UK every year, and only around 37,850 of them are electric vehicles. But that number is about to shift quite drastically, and if you’re looking for a replacement car or van, it might be time to look into an electric vehicle instead. As part of the process, and to get more people on board, the UK Government have set up OLEV (the Office of Low Emission Vehicles) and developed a number of schemes and grants for electric vehicle users. In particular, there are 3 grants designed to help you install an electric car charge point in your home.
What Grants are Available?
Workplace Charging Scheme: If you’re a business looking to upgrade to an all-electric fleet, it will pay to have a few charge points installed at your premises. The Workplace Charging Scheme is open to all businesses, charities and the wider public sector, who can get grants of up to £350 per socket for installing up to 40 sockets for their employees and fleets. So this not only encourages businesses to switch to electric, but provides the infrastructure and incentive for their employees as well.
Find out more about the workplace charging scheme here.
Plug-in Vehicle Grant: Because the up-front cost of an electric vehicle can be higher than a petrol or diesel car, the Government have also introduced a plug-in grant to help offset some of the cost of new electric vehicles. This grant is available on a wide range of eligible vehicles, including:
- Cars
- Vans
- Motorcycles
- Mopeds
- Taxis
- Large trucks
To qualify for this grant, you must buy an electric vehicle that meets the criteria, which are that the electric car you buy must:
- Cost less than £35,000.
- Have emissions of less than 50g/km.
- Have a zero-emissions range of at least 70 miles.
For vans there is no upper price limit for the grant – but the vehicle much have emissions of less than 75g/km and a zero-emissions range of at least 10 miles to qualify.
The maximum grant you can get for new electric cars is £2,500, for vans it’s between £3,500-£6,000 depending on size, while taxis can get up to £7,500, and the maximum for a motorbike or moped is £1,500. This grant is designed to bring the cost of buying a new electric vehicle in line with buying a new petrol or diesel vehicle, so that cost is no longer the obstacle.
You can find out more about the plug-in vehicle grant here.
Electric Vehicle Homecharging Scheme: This is an additional OLEV grant to help cover the cost of the electric vehicle infrastructure for your home. The cheapest and fastest method is to use a specially designed EV charging unit, which are all-weather charging units that can be installed outside your home. OLEV provides grant funding for up for 75% of the cost of installing a domestic charging unit, with a cap of £350. You do have to own, lease or be named as the primary user of an eligible EV, or have a vehicle if you want to qualify for this grant.
You can find out more about the electric vehicle Homecharging scheme here.
How Can You Apply?
For most of these schemes, you can apply just by using the links above – you’ll be taken through the eligibility criteria to make sure you can actually get the grant, and asked to fill in some forms either online or printed and sent in by post. You should also check that the electric vehicle you have is eligible for the grant you want – as not all EVs are eligible for all grants. OLEV have published an eligible vehicle list, which you can see here.
At DNA Brickwork & Builders, we are dedicated to supporting a green future. In fact, we’re so passionate about electric vehicles that we own one, and are in the middle of upgrading our entire fleet to electric-only vehicles. Our electricians have worked hard to achieve OLEV approval, which means we have been trained and tested in installing electric car charging points at home or on commercial premises. We can install all types of electric vehicle charging points to suit cars and vans, including Type 1 and Type 2, as well as guide you through the process of applying for your grant so that you save a little money too! If you would like to find out more, just get in touch with the team today.
