THE Government has cut the Plug-in Car Grant (PICG) from November 09, 2018. The new rate will be £3500, down from £4500.

It has also abolished the Grant for Plug-in Electric Hybrids (PHEVs) from the same date.

The Government said in a statement:

“The Plug-in Car Grant has helped the plug-in hybrid market become more established, and the government will now focus its support on zero emission models like pure electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars.

“The changes to the grant announced today will mean that the grant rate for Category 1 vehicles will move from £4,500 to £3,500 and Category 2 and 3 vehicles will no longer be eligible for the grant.”

The grant has supported 160,000 vehicles. Of these 100,000 have been PHEVs.

The new grant rates commence from November 09, 2018.

The Government says that a transition period is in place from October 11, 2018 to November 09, 2018 and the grant levels available will depend on how many vehicles are sold during this period.

What are the categories that qualify for the new PICG?

• category 1 – CO₂ emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles

What are the categories that no longer qualify for the new PICG?

• category 2 – CO₂ emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range between 10 and 69 miles
• category 3 – CO₂ emissions of 50 to 75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 miles

How will grants work during the transition period?

The Government through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has issued the following guidance:

“We expect an increase in orders during the transition period, as customers bring forward their purchases to take advantage of the higher grant rates. We have therefore put limits on the number of orders that can be claimed at the new grant rates during the transition period. If these limits are reached, then the new grant rate will come into effect as of the next working day. Otherwise grant rates will change on 9 November.

“We have set 2 different limits: one for new category 1 orders, and for new category 2 / 3 orders. The category 1 grant rate will reduce if the category 1 limit is reached and the category 2 / 3 grant rate will reduce if the category 2 / 3 limit is reached.

“We have set these limits at a level that is considerably higher than the number of orders we would typically expect if we were not changing grant levels. This is to take into account the likely increase in orders during the transition period.”

Anything else I should know about the changes?

• If you’ve already ordered a car before the changes were announced, you will receive the full grant
• If you’ve ordered a qualifying car before the grant changes and it is not delivered before November 09 you should still receive the higher grant level
• If you order a car on the old qualifying grant but it is not delivered within nine months then you will lose the higher grant

For more questions about the qualifying grant

Click here where the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has provided some detailed Q & As