£650million has been allocated to the scheme, which applies to any plug-in model priced £37,000 or below.
Discounts of up to £3,750 can be applied to eligible TVs immediately, with the new programme coming into effect yesterday, Wednesday 16th July.
The mechanisms build on the old Conservative government’s backed initiative, which offered £1,500 off vehicles worth less than £32,000. However, the value of the payment depends on a range of sustainability criteria, with cars categorised as ‘band one’ or ‘band two’ – the latter can claim a maximum of £1,500.
After three years without subsidies, sales of EVs have suffered, and currently fall short of Downing Street’s own targets. This has led to the industry calling for more support. According to a report by Autocar, further bands may be introduced to reflect technological developments, with a government spokesperson confirming these are assigned based on total carbon emissions produced during the vehicle’s productions.
It’s not clear where the thresholds are. But policymakers have confirmed that people buying eligible cars made in the UK, like the Citroën ë-Berlingo, will not receive any additional help, despite the vehicles clocking up far fewer miles in the supply chain. To quality, manufacturers use also have verified science-based targets for carbon reduction and emissions scores below an as-yet undisclosed level.
‘An SBT [that we consider verified] is one that has been validated by the Science Based Target initiative [SBTi],’ a government spokesperson told Autocar. ‘Scores are relative to an index based on the carbon intensity of different [power] grids…
‘If manufacturers are confident their application will be successful, sales from before formal application approval would be eligible for the grant provided they comply with all aspects of the scheme and the application was subsequently approved,’ the continued. ‘This applies from Wednesday 16 July.’
Image: Zaptec / Unsplash
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