More than half of British drivers back government grants for EVs

More than half of British drivers think the government should reintroduce purchase grants on EVs to help encourage uptake.

A poll of motorists found that 59% were in favour of financial help around vehicles and home chargers, with many also backing other incentives such as discounted parking and cheaper public charging.

The survey by online marketplace Carwow revealed that of those in favour of government help the vast majority (93%) thought grants should be used to reduce the cost of installing a home charger. A lack of a home charger was recently identified as the number one excuse for not going electric.

A similar 91% thought that grants should be offered on the purchase of new electric cars. The previous plug-in car grant initially offered up to £5,000 towards the purchase of a new EV before gradually being reduced to £1,500 by the time it was scrapped in 2022.

A significant 81% of those who wanted government support thought this should extend to a cut in VAT on public charging – something the industry has previous promoted – and two-thirds thought cheaper parking for EVs would help attract more buyers.

The study showed a generational divide in the support for government grants, with 66% of drivers under 25 backing them, compared with 48% of those aged 55 or older.

It also found that around a quarter (24%) of drivers were against any form of government intervention. The majority (60%) said that paying for an EV should be down to the owner rather than the taxpayer, with around a third (35%) arguing that it should be down to car makers to offer financial help to boost sales.

Recent months have seen several car makers do just this as they face mandatory sales targets under the ZEV mandate and softening demand. Fiat offers a £3,000 contribution towards purchases of the 500e and 600e, and has just slashed the price of the 500e, while Honda, Mazda, Renault and Nissan have all either cut their prices or introduced lower-cost variants to encourage sales.

Sally Foote, chief commercial officer at Carwow, said: “The disappointing sales figures for EVs earlier this year prove that more government support is needed to increase uptake, and it’s clear the public agrees. For the vast majority of drivers, grants on both home chargers and the initial purchase of an EV will be necessary for them to become a feasible option.”

The body which represents car makers and sellers in the UK has also recently urged the government to intervene to boost EV sales. While fleet and company car purchases continue to grow – albeit at a slower rate than last year – private retail sales are struggling. To address this, the SMMT has suggested the government should halve VAT on new EVs, maintain their exemption from the ‘luxury car’ tax, and bring VAT on public charging down from 20% to 5%.