It hasn’t been desperately well advertised, but the Government is giving operators who buy an approved electric truck thousands of pounds to offset the higher initial purchase price of the electric truck compared to buying diesel.
The headline grant stands at an impressive £25,000 for large trucks and £16,000 for smaller trucks– but, as with all these types of awards, there are series of conditions attached. The good news is that the discount is not from a list price but from the actual price paid by the truck buyer.
Firstly, the truck you want to buy must be on the government-approved list. As the industry is in a state of rapid change, this list will be a moving target. However, at present, for the smaller truck category, the list is limited and stands at just:
- FUSO eCanter
- Paneltex Z75
- Tevva T7 – T133
Note that this smaller category only goes from 4.25 tonnes to 12 tonnes GVW. Interestingly, the Mercedes eSprinter is available at 4.25 tonnes GVW – does this mean it will make the list? According to the government’s website a small truck starts at 4250kg and a large van finishes at 4250kg. If your vehicle has a GVW of 4,250 it would be nice to have the £16,000 compared to the van grant of just £5,000. Perhaps Mercedes will change the GVW to 4251kg to be on the safe side?
At the other end of the spectrum, the DAF XB may sit in this category at 12 tonnes, but would benefit from being in the large truck category, where the grant could be worth £25,000.
The Large truck list is more comprehensive than that for smaller trucks and will undoubtedly grow – Volvo have just had their FM and FH added in the last few days.
- Electra e-Compact
- Electra e-Star 27-350
- DAF CF Electric Tractor Unit
- Dennis Eagle E-Collect RCV
- Renault Trucks D-Range
- Volvo FE 6×2 (Incomplete)
- Volvo FL 4×2 (Incomplete)
For a truck to make it on the list it has to be able to travel 60 miles emission free. It can have a diesel engine as well, but it must have CO2 emissions at least 50% of a comparable Euro 6 diesel truck.
Customer Limits
It is likely that companies interested in electric trucks in the early stages will be those operating lots of trucks. As a result, the government has minimised their exposure to unplanned cost of a company ordering thousands by offering the maximum grant for the first ten small trucks or five large trucks. After this time the small truck grant will fall to £5,000 and the large truck grant to £16,000.
This isn’t the only limit, however. The full amount is only payable to the first 250 trucks per year for the small trucks and just 100 for the large trucks in a year.
So, if you have already reached your company limit or the annual total has been reached, you won’t get the full amount.
How you know this when you are committing to purchasing a truck is down to the dealer accessing the portal to check the details. Alternatively, you can email the government on [email protected] to find out.
According to the Government website, “A grant is not guaranteed until the vehicle has been validated through the portal. Any order placed on the system for a specific customer is guaranteed the grant at the level advertised at the time the order was placed on the grant portal. This is provided that within 12 months of the date the order is place, the vehicle is registered and has been delivered to the customer. The order must also appear on the grant portal as either:”
Can I get the Grant on Lease?
The simple answer is yes, but the leasing company must check how many grants the end user has been awarded. The grants are not for the leasing company, but for the end user.
You can find out more and access all the forms here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plug-in-vehicle-grant-portal-guidance/using-the-plug-in-vehicle-grant-portal