Government announces two-year extension to electric van and truck grant

The government has announced a two-year extension to its plug-in van and truck grant, which it says will ‘support the purchase of tens of thousands of greener vans and trucks’.

Launched in 2012, these grants have supported more than 26,000 electric vans and HGVs to date, with real growth being reported in the sector in recent years. For example, there were four times as many applications for the grant in 2021 compared to the year before.

The government says the two-year extension to the grant is ‘essential to support the government’s climate change and air quality commitments’, with five per cent cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions said to stem from vans.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: ”When it comes to clean business, this government means business. We are backing a generation of green growth for our thriving fleet sector.

“As demand for electric vehicles continues to grow at speed, this extension to our grant scheme will allow tens of thousands more vans to be purchased, transporting goods in a way which is kinder to our environment.”

Currently there are more than 30 vans and trucks eligible for the government’s grant, though the government has revised the grant as part of the extension – now targeting the largest grants at heavier models.

It means that electric trucks weighing more than 4.25 tonnes are now eligible for up to £16,000. Commercial vehicles weighing up to 4.25 tonnes will be able to claim the large van grant of up to £5,000.

Grants towards electric commercial vehicles are far more generous than those for cars, with the government continuing to wind down funding for electric cars, with the grant now only available on models costing under £32,000, while the incentive has also been reduced to just £1,500.

The government has also said it will continue to allow drivers with standard car licences to drive electric vans up to 4.25 tonnes, rather than the 3.5-tonne limit in place for diesel vans.

Many organisations have welcomed the extension to the grant, with the BVRLA, which represents more than 1,000 vehicle rental, leasing and fleet firms, saying it will provide ‘greater confidence’ to van operators.

BVRLA director of corporate affairsToby Poston said: “This good news comes at the perfect time for the fleet industry as it struggles with rising operating costs and global shortage of electric vans. The electric van market continues to lag behind the electric car market and next year was not the time to remove this vital grant.”