The price of some new electric vehicles will shortly be cut by as much as £3,750 under the grants the government is launching to persuade motorists to switch away from petrol and diesel cars.
The savings will be available on qualifying cars that cost up to £37,000, with the greenest vehicles experiencing the largest cuts, the Department for Transport (DfT) stated. Carmakers can apply for funding from Wednesday, with the RAC saying discounted cars should start appearing at dealerships “within weeks”.
But some drivers have previously told the BBC that ultimately, the UK needs more charging points to spur people to buy electric vehicles (EVs). The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars from 2030. Under the plan, discounts will be between £1,500 and £3,750. Manufacturers submit individual models to be put forward for funding consideration, which is granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
When models have been approved, the company will subsequently deduct the money from the cost of the car, meaning customers will simply see the lower price in showrooms and will not need to do anything themselves to receive the discount.
It is believed the government will release a list of qualifying vehicles within a few days. The subsidies to reduce the price of EVs will be paid for out of a £650m scheme, and will be on offer for three years. There are about 1.3 million electric vehicles on Britain’s roads, but there are only about 82,000 public charging stations.
Over the weekend, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced that the government will be investing £63m to pay for EV charging points. How expensive are EVs to purchase and refuel? The initial cost of EVs is more expensive on average compared with petrol vehicles.
In June 2025, the average cost of a new battery electric vehicle was £49,790, according to Autotrader, based on manufacturers’ recommended prices for 148 models. The equivalent for a petrol vehicle was £34,225, although it should be noted that the averages span a wide price range.
EVs can also be more economical to run, and several lower-cost models have entered the market in recent times. It cost an average of 15p per mile to charge an EV from the public charging network in June using either a slow or fast charger, and 23p per mile with a rapid or ultra-rapid charger, figures gathered by charger locator company Zapmap show.
Home charging is usually more affordable. Research by car finance company Carmoola has put the cost of using a fast or slow charger at home between 6p and 9p per mile for a 60kWh battery car, based on how efficient the car is.
Vauxhall’s managing director, Steve Catlin, said on the BBC’s Today programme that his company welcomed the move by the government, but having more consumer demand and the provision of charging points were two areas that the government had to address.
Referring to the number of electric vehicles sold, he stated: “The target this year is 28%. Currently, we’re running at 21.6% as an industry. Mr Catlin also pointed to the government’s aim of doubling from 82,000 to 300,000 charging points by 2030. So, 40% of homes in the UK don’t have a driveway; therefore, they’re less likely to have a home charger and, therefore, they’re less likely, of course, to buy an electric car on that basis.”
