Car makers can self-register EVs and get paid government grant

Car makers will be able to self-register eligible electric cars and receive the government's new Electric Car Grant (ECG), Autocar can reveal.

Through the likes of demonstrators, employee vehicles sold through employee car ownership schemes and even press demonstrator vehicles, car makers will receive up to £3750 from the ECG purse, so long as the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is informed, a Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson has confirmed to Autocar.

Such practice would be a huge boost in helping car makers with EVs eligible for the grant to be compliant with the government's ZEV mandate and avoid fines for non-compliance. While self-registrations have always counted towards ZEV mandate compliance, the fact that car makers will now get public money for this practice is surprising.

At face value, the loophole undermines at the very least the spirit of the ECG, which was seemingly introduced with the goal of boosting sales of EVs to private buyers, and is one of a number of issues that Autocar has brought to the government's attention. 

In response to a series of questions highlighting potential loopholes in the new ECG, which was introduced with little warning last week, the government rejected suggestions that it unfairly offers public money to fleet buyers and company car drivers who don’t need any extra encouragement to make the switch.

Private sales have typically made up only around one in five EV sales, and repeated calls for subsidies from the automotive industry since the introduction of the ZEV mandate last year have focused on helping to stimulate sales in this area of the market in order for car makers to keep up with the growth in electric car sales that the mandate requires. 

Meanwhile, fleet EV sales have long been incentivised through favourable benefit-in-kind tax rates that make them financially advantageous to a majority of company car buyers. These incentives have driven most of the growth in the EV market to date.

However, the ECG is available to fleet buyers as well as private buyers, allowing public money to be used to help EV buyers effectively get extra financial relief from the government on a purchase they would probably make anyway.

“The government is committed to supporting all consumers who would like to purchase an electric vehicle, whether that’s privately or through financing arrangements such as leases,” said the spokesperson after Autocar raised this particular point.