Future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood has confirmed that the Department of Transport will extend the plug-in van grant for another year.
The extension means an additional £120 million in funding will be available for businesses and van drivers, who can receive grants up to £2,500 when buying small vans off up to 2.5 tonnes and up to £5,000 for larger vans of up to 4.25 tonnes.
According to the Department for Transport, the plug-in van grant has so far helped sell over 80,000 electric and zero emission vans since its launch in 2012. It said it is also making it easier to switch to zero emission vans by removing the requirement for additional training that is in place for zero emission vans but not the petrol or diesel equivalents. This additional requirement was previously justified by the fact that electric vans can be heavier than traditional fuel types.
The funding is part of over £2.3 billion allocated to helping industry and consumers switch to EVs. Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “By making the transition to zero emissions a success, we’re helping to drive growth all over the UK, putting more money in people’s pockets and rebuilding Britain to deliver our Plan for Change.”
The department is also making available £4,000 grants for taxi drivers to buy zero emission taxi cabs and increasing the cap on the plug-in wheelchair accessible vehicle grant from £35,000 to £50,000.
The government says it has been engaging closely with car manufacturers on how to support them to deliver the EV transition, noting the recent close of a consultation on how best to deliver its manifesto commitment to restore the 2030 phaseout date for new purely petrol and diesel cars as part of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Appetite for new EVs has been strong this year, with 27,700 battery EVs – 21.5% of the market – registered in January 2025, the best-ever start to a year. However, the industry is calling for the government to do more, including removing the ‘pavement tax’ that charges a higher VAT rate for public charging than for at home charging, and extending tax breaks afford to EV drivers.
