EV grant offers £5,000 off new and used cars, but there’s a catch

A new EV grant is offering up to £5,000 off the price of a new or used vehicle but only to a select group of drivers.

Two years after the government scrapped the plug-in car grant, ride-sharing firm Uber is offering its drivers in London the discount to encourage them to go electric.

Uber drivers in the capital can claim the £5,000 grant towards the purchase, lease or hire purchase of a new or secondhand EV. And they can use the latest grant in conjunction with other offers that could save them a total of £22,000 on the price of a new car.

Through its partnership with Hummingbird Motors, Uber is offering drivers £13,000 off the price of the Kia Niro and up to £17,000 off the price of a Kia EV6, as well as further savings on its rent-to-buy deals.

While the plug-in taxi grant is still offering up to £6,000 off the price of a new electrified black cab, private hire vehicles such as Ubers aren’t eligible. Uber’s UK boss Andrew Brem said the firm wanted to help accelerate electrification of the transport sector through the grant.

He said: “Now is the time to speed up on electrification, not slow down. We cannot reach our collective zero-emission goals without continued action from policymakers and investment across the industry.

“Uber drivers can be the catalyst for accelerating electrification across the transport sector but collaboration will be crucial to combat air pollution and work towards a more sustainable future.”

As well as the grants on new vehicles, Uber has partnered with BP Pulse to offer drivers up to £750 of free public charging over three months and specially discounted rates at its London chargers.

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, commented: “I welcome this initiative, which will give drivers who need it a helping hand to switch their petrol or diesel vehicle for an electric one.

“Schemes like this are helping us to build a fairer, greener London for everyone.”