The Electric Car Grant Returns: Every UK EV Eligible for Up to £3,750 Off

What it is

The Electric Car Grant (ECG) is a UK government subsidy of up to £3,750 off the price of an eligible new electric car — the most significant EV purchase incentive since the original Plug-in Car Grant ended in 2022. Announced on 15 July 2025 with a budget in the region of £650 million, it runs through 2028/29.

You do not apply for it. There is no form, no portal, no waiting. The dealer applies the discount at the point of sale, and it comes straight off the on-the-road price. For salary-sacrifice users, it is baked into the lease cost before your monthly figure is calculated.

The two bands, and why they exist

The crucial thing to understand is that eligibility is not simply about price.

• Band 1: up to £3,750 — awarded to cars scoring most favourably against the government's sustainability criteria, which assess not just the vehicle but the carbon intensity of the factory that built it and its battery supply chain.
• Band 2: up to £1,500 — cars that qualify but score less well on those criteria.

Both bands require a list price at or under £37,000, plus minimum standards on battery warranty and range.

This design is doing something deliberate. It is a green-industrial-policy instrument dressed as a consumer subsidy — rewarding European and UK manufacturing with low-carbon energy inputs. Which is precisely why a number of otherwise excellent, competitively priced EVs from certain manufacturers do not appear on the Band 1 list.

Where it stands: roughly 45 eligible models

As of mid-2026 the official OZEV list carries around 45 eligible models — a small number in Band 1, and a much larger group in Band 2. Certification processing has been reduced to roughly two to three weeks, and the list changes continuously.

Band 1 — the full £3,750

• Renault 5 E-Tech (52kWh only) — from about £23,495 after grant. UK Car of the Year 2026. Up to 250 miles.
• Renault 4 E-Tech — all versions (52kWh, French-built battery). AUTOBEST Best Buy Car of Europe 2026.
• Alpine A290 — the hot-hatch Renault 5. Upgraded from Band 2 to Band 1.
• Renault Scenic E-Tech — most recent Band 1 addition.
• Nissan LEAF (75kWh) — built in Sunderland. From about £32,249 after grant.
• Nissan Micra (52kWh)
• MINI Countryman Electric — Countryman E (201hp, 307 miles) and SE All4 (313hp, 287 miles), 65.2kWh.
• Ford Puma Gen-E — upgraded from Band 2 to Band 1.
• Citroën ë-C5 Aircross Long Range
• Kia EV4 and, more recently, the Kia EV2 Long Range
• Skoda Elroq

Band 2 — £1,500

A much broader field, covering most of the Stellantis EV range (Citroën ë-C3, ë-C3 Aircross, ë-C4, ë-Berlingo; Peugeot E-208, E-2008, E-308; Vauxhall Corsa, Astra, Mokka, Frontera, Grandland Electric; Fiat 600e; Jeep Avenger; Alfa Romeo Junior; Abarth 600e; DS3), plus Volkswagen ID.3 / ID.4 / ID.5, Skoda Enyaq, and the Toyota C-HR+.

Stellantis alone accounts for roughly 27 qualifying models — close to half the entire list.

The Band 1 / Band 2 trap

The same car can appear in both bands. Battery size is usually the differentiator, and the difference is £2,250 of your money.

Examples that catch people out:

• Renault 5 — only the 52kWh gets £3,750. The smaller battery does not.
• Nissan Micra — same rule.
• Citroën ë-C5 Aircross — only the Long Range gets Band 1; every other version gets £1,500.
• Skoda Enyaq SE L 85 — priced from £41,305, above the £37,000 threshold, yet still qualifies for the £1,500 grant, because it shares type-approval documentation with the Elroq.

Always, always confirm the exact variant, trim and battery capacity before signing.

The manufacturer workaround

Here is the part the official coverage skirts. Manufacturers whose cars do not qualify have simply invented their own grants.

• Jaecoo offers a "Jaecoo EV Grant" — £3,750 off the Jaecoo E5, with a 48-month PCP at 3.9% APR.
• Omoda offers an identical £3,750 "Omoda EV Grant", with a 0% APR PCP.
• Skywell offers £3,750 off the BE11 as an "EV Switch Incentive", plus £500 towards insurance.
• Dacia dropped its own scheme in favour of 0% APR plus a £1,500 deposit contribution on the Spring.
• Smart stacks £3,500 of stock clearance on the #1 with a £1,500 grant, for £5,000 total.

Net effect: the £3,750 figure has become a market price point rather than a government programme. Manufacturers excluded from the scheme are matching it out of their own margin to avoid being visibly more expensive.

For you, that means the grant list is not the whole map of available discounts — and in some cases, a non-qualifying car with a manufacturer scheme plus 0% finance beats a qualifying car at 5% APR.

The Alpine cautionary tale

Worth knowing, because it shows how this can go wrong. When the Alpine A290 was upgraded from Band 2 to Band 1 — an extra £2,250 of public money — Renault raised the car's price by £495, removed a £1,000 deposit contribution, and lifted the PCP rate from 1.9% to 4.9% APR.

The net cost to the customer barely improved.

That is the single most important consumer lesson in this whole scheme. Compare the total cost of the deal, not the headline grant. A £3,750 grant attached to a worse finance package can be worth less than a £1,500 grant attached to a better one.

Stacking

The Electric Car Grant and the home charger grant (up to £350) are separate schemes. You can claim both — up to £4,100 combined.

• Up to £3,750 (Band 1) or £1,500 (Band 2), applied automatically at the dealer
• Cars must be priced at or under £37,000; banding depends on manufacturing sustainability, not just price
• Roughly 45 models qualify; the list updates continuously
• The same model can sit in both bands depending on battery size — check the variant
• Excluded manufacturers are matching £3,750 with their own schemes; always compare total deal cost

Key takeaways

• Up to £3,750 (Band 1) or £1,500 (Band 2), applied automatically at the dealer
• Cars must be priced at or under £37,000; banding depends on manufacturing sustainability, not just price
• Roughly 45 models qualify; the list updates continuously
• The same model can sit in both bands depending on battery size — check the variant
• Excluded manufacturers are matching £3,750 with their own schemes; always compare total deal cost