The importance of grants and incentives for electric cars

Electric vehicles have been around for a while now, but it’s going to take a bit of time before the majority of cars on the road are electric. Wide scale adoption of any new technology takes time. Some of the main barriers for people in making the switch to EVs are about managing range, how to charge an electric car and how driving electric is different from driving a manual fuel-powered car. EVs are also still more expensive to buy upfront than traditional petrol or diesel cars, though this cost will come down with mass adoption. Electric cars are expected to be the same price as fuel-powered cars as early as 2027.

There are many benefits to electric cars. With EV government grants and incentives available, the cost difference can be less significant. In this guide, we’ll explore the main government grants for electric cars and funding options that can make running an electric car more affordable.

The EV chargepoint grant can help cover some of the cost for installing an electric vehicle smart chargepoint at your home, either as a resident or as a landlord. This grant is part of the government's strategy to improve EV charging infrastructure and make  it easier for people to charge their electric cars. This EV charger grant can cover up to 75% of the cost of installing an electric car charger. This new scheme started in April 2022 and has replaced the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.

This grant is also designed to reduce the cost of owning and running an electric car, making EVs more affordable for everyone.  Having an EV home charger also makes driving an electric car more convenient. With a home charger, drivers don’t need to worry about finding a place to charge their car on the public network, and it’s also much more convenient than driving to a petrol station to fill up. With a home EV charger, drivers can also take advantage of super cheap, green energy overnight at a rate of as little as 3p per mile with EV specialist tariffs, like Intelligent Octopus.

This type of electric car grant is available to homeowners, landlords (including commercial landlords) and businesses who want to install chargepoints at their properties. You just need to make sure you use an OZEV-approved installer to be eligible for the grant.

Grants for installing chargers on your street for local authorities

Local authorities want their residents to use EVs. Imagine cleaner, greener and more modern neighbourhoods with less pollution and no need for petrol stations - and it becomes clear why the government is incentivising the switch to electric. The UK government is building one of the best EV charging infrastructures in the world to make driving and charging an electric car affordable, reliable, accessible and secure.

The On-Street Residential Chargepoint scheme is open to all local authorities to assist with the cost of installing more EV chargers for people who live locally.

If you work for, or own a business, charity or public sector organisation and you want to install EV chargers at your place of work there are grants you can make the most of too.

The grants can cover up to 75% of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints (inclusive of VAT), capped at a maximum of £350 per socket, and with a limit on 40 sockets across all sites per applicant.

The good news is that when you take a car through our Octopus Electric Vehicles salary sacrifice scheme, you won’t need to apply for a grant for an EV home charger. We give all of our salary sacrifice drivers the Ohme Pro home charger, plus standard installation completely free!

EV salary sacrifice schemes let you reduce your taxable income by sacrificing a portion of your salary, in exchange for benefits. This means you’ll pay less Income Tax and National Insurance, and your employer will save on taxes, too.

Whether  an employee can get a car under an EV salary sacrifice scheme depends on their salary. If they fall under the National Minimum Wage after the sacrifice, they won't be eligible. EV salary sacrifice schemes work really well for people and businesses who want to reduce their tax liability and make electric cars more affordable.

There are many benefits included in our EV salary sacrifice scheme, including:

• A comprehensive EV package: A complete package that includes everything you need: car, charger, energy, insurance, servicing, maintenance, breakdown and tyres. This means you won't have to worry about any extra costs.
• Excellent customer service: We’re the most highly regarded EV salary sacrifice program on Trustpilot, with a 4.8-star rating.
• A free home charger: If your employees have off-street parking, we'll include a free home charger with basic installation, making electric car charging convenient and accessible. If they don’t have off-street parking, our sister company Electroverse will give them 4,000 miles of free public charging credit.
• Test drive days: We arrange electric car  drive days so your whole team can experience driving an EV first-hand. It's a fantastic way to get the whole crew excited about EVs.
• Easy public charging: Electroverse makes charging your device a breeze. One card and app grant you access to thousands of chargers, all in one place.

Overall, the EV salary sacrifice scheme is a great way to reduce your tax liability and make electric cars more affordable. It's a comprehensive package that includes everything you need — from the car to the charger — along with excellent customer service. Get in touch today to get started and learn more.