The UK government has ended financial support for any electric car purchases. The incentive, which was launched in 2011, has been enjoyed by more than 500,000 vehicles over the past decade.
However, the revocation of the subsidy made the price of electric cars go up. Previous buyers can claim an incentive of £1,500 for any purchase of any electric car priced under £32,000 (US$39,000). While support for PHEV cars has been discontinued since 2018.
Reporting from Carscoops, Wednesday (15/6/2022), when the scheme was first launched, buyers could claim a much cheaper subsidy of 5,000 pounds (6,100 US dollars) against EVs, such as the Nissan Leaf. However, these cars are less practical because they are expensive, electric driving distances are short, charging times are long and charging stations are still scarce.
Over time most of these criticisms have been answered. As a result, electric car orders have surged in the UK to the point where the Tesla Model 3 has topped sales for the past few months, even though it is too expensive to qualify for the subsidy.
The achievement is a clear sign that many buyers no longer need incentives to switch to electric-powered cars, although those on lower incomes will find it more difficult.
The Renault Zoe is one of the EVs under 32,000 pounds to qualify for incentives in the UK. These new car buyers have to pay more for the new car. However, the UK government did not completely remove incentives for electric vehicles.
They have allocated £300 million for financial assistance for electric taxis, motorbikes, delivery vehicles (logistics) and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
