The plug-in car grant was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 after a surge in demand for electric vehicles put the scheme under pressure, while the upper limit of cars eligible for the grant was reduced from £50,000 to £35,000.
All of this means that the UK’s most popular electric car, Tesla’s £40,500 Model 3, will no longer be covered by the grant.
Chris Green, CCO and founder of Regit, said: "This is bad news for motorists and it's difficult to understand why the Government has done this given its very ambitious 2030 emission targets. 80% of consumers listed price as the biggest barrier to buying an electric vehicle in our own car buying survey and it's fairly obvious that this, coupled with ongoing doubts about the quality of our charging infrastructure, will only hinder sales of electric vehicles further.
"The £35,000 barrier will also narrow the choice of models available to many substantially and when you look at the popularity of models like Tesla's Model 3, priced at £40,000, this move becomes even more baffling.
"It's also worth pointing out that, as a result of poor sales due it Covid-19, car dealers have backlogs of pre-reg stock which includes some of the most attractive deals on petrol and diesel models that we can remember seeing. It's, therefore, more likely car buyers will opt for another petrol or diesel model when the electric alternatives are even more costly."