As of 07.00 on 14 June, OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) has removed the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) to new orders. This is what it means to members.
Please note: the Plug-in Van Grant remains unchanged.
The withdrawal is due to the success of the PiCG and maturity of the plug-in car market. The Government will now target taxpayer’s money where it will make the most difference. The £300 million grant funding will now be refocused towards infrastructure and extending Plug-in grants to boost sales of plug-in taxis, vans, trucks, motorcycles and wheelchair accessible vehicles, as announced in the Autumn statement. The Van and Truck grant was previously extended until 2024/25.
Vehicle manufacturers (on behalf of the dealership network) are able to claim for any orders that were placed by customers in the two days prior to the PiCG end which had not been placed on the portal, providing there is a signed purchase agreement with the dealer. This two-day leeway period means that orders placed by customers between 00.01 on 10 June 2022 and 23.59 on 13 June 2022 before the grants scheme ended, that had not yet been logged on the portal, will be paid.
The grant portal has been temporarily suspended to deactivate the vehicles that were previously eligible for the grant but should be available again from around midday today. The guidance on Gov.uk will be updated to reflect the announcement. A revised list of vehicles eligible for the grants will be available on the Government’s website from around midday.
Details of two-day leeway period
Claims – genuine orders
All portal users have been advised that claims for this period must be made via their vehicle manufacturer.
Once dealerships have provided details of orders they wish to claim for, vehicle manufacturers must collate all orders and provide one claim submission to OZEV. OZEV will be conducting random checks to ensure that orders are genuine – this will include contacting customers directly to confirm information provided by dealerships. Any orders found to have conflicting information will be cancelled and not progressed.
Evidence to support claims under the 2-day leeway period
The evidence must be in the form of a dated sales agreement – showing the order was made between 00.01 on 10 June and 23.59 on 13 June. Vehicle manufacturers will have until 5pm on 14 July to provide details to OZEV. Late claims will not be accepted.
Next steps
Once OZEV has received the spreadsheet and accompanying evidence from the manufacturer this will be passed to the portal administrator at the DVLA who will check the evidence provided. Claims will be processed on a first come first served basis.
DVLA will aim to provide confirmation on which claims have been accepted, or rejected, within 90 working days of a claim being received. Where claims are accepted the DVLA will arrange a date for the dealers to add orders to the portal for vehicles that are now ineligible for the grant.
Where claims are rejected OZEV will accept one appeal if the dealer believes that a wrong decision has been made.
In response to this morning’s announcement, Toby Poston, Director of Corporate Affairs at the BVRLA, said:
“This move has been well signposted and it is right that the Government prioritises its electric vehicle subsidies towards vans and charging infrastructure, where they are needed most.
“Although the grant was small and only a handful of electric vehicles were eligible, its withdrawal will be a symbolic moment that could damage confidence in the fragile EV market.
“Most demand for EVs is being driven by the favourable Benefit-in-Kind tax rates available to workers in company car or salary sacrifice schemes. As inflation surges and business and consumer confidence falls, Government needs to maintain these incentives if the country is to have any chance of hitting its ambitious decarbonisation targets.
“Our big concern is for the thousands of drivers that have already ordered EVs in good faith, expecting to get the benefit of the grant. The supply issues that continue to beset the automotive industry mean that many vehicle orders are being delayed or even cancelled. OZEV should review its decision to remove grant eligibility for vehicles delivered more than 12 months after an order was entered on the grant register.”
Next steps
The withdrawal of this grant demonstrates the success of electric cars to date, but must not be interpreted as reaching the finish line in EV uptake. Other incentives must remain for the market to retain its momentum, and the BVRLA recently launched its campaign to urge the Chancellor to give more years of tax foresight, keep BEV BiK rates low, and stagger any increases to avoid any sudden hikes.
The BVRLA is asking members to support this campaign by emailing their local MP to raise awareness of the issues and make our collective voice louder. Members can send a pre-written letter via the online tool in just a couple of minutes.
