Over the past few months, electricians have been getting requests to install EV chargers or upgrade wiring in preparation for installing an EV charger, providing a lucrative opportunity for those trained or attending courses to learn how to install them.
There are a lot of reasons why, but both advocates and critics of electric cars have cited the Electric Car Grant as a major influence on sales.
To find out if this is the case, we need to examine what the Electric Car Grant is, how it has helped, what other factors have affected sales and how electricians can take advantage of the boom and be part of a greener transport future.
What Is The Electric Car Grant?
Established in mid-2025 and set to run until 2030, the Electric Car Grant was a government-funded discount worth up to £3,750 on any car that cost under £37,000 and met sustainability criteria that made it a zero-emissions vehicle.
There are two bands to the discount, which is automatically deducted from the car’s price:
- Band 1, which discounts up to £3750 from the price of the car
- Band 2, which discounts up to £1500 from the price of the car
Whilst initially criticised for a lack of choice and a somewhat opaque system of determining which cars qualify for which band, the system quickly expanded to encompass a wide range of cars.
As of July 2026, 64 cars are eligible for the scheme, and 17 of which qualify for the full discount.
Since only one car in the range needs to be available for under the £37,000 price, it is possible to buy a top-of-the-range version and still receive a discount.
Other manufacturers have employed additional discount schemes and additional incentive packages for buying an EV, including an EV charger installation in some cases.
How Much Has The Electric Car Grant Helped?
The exact extent to which the Electric Car Grant has encouraged sales is a matter of debate, with cases for and against its success.
For
According to data from Autotrader, the Grant has meant that the cost of the average new EV is nearly £800 less than the cost of the average petrol car.
The most in-demand EV is the Renault 5 E-Tech, and its 52kWh model qualifies for the full discount, whilst other popular models have significantly lowered in price compared to their petrol models.
Given that EVs have lower running costs, lower cost per mile and save money on certain types of road tax and charges in low-emissions zones, the only barrier left was the upfront cost, which the Grant has helped to minimise.
Against
However, whilst it has helped sway buyers already on the fence, there are caveats to be made.
The first is that the discount, whilst not small, is not enough to convince people who feel priced out of buying an EV to pick one up, although given that new EVs are on the market for as little as £12,000, this is beginning to change.
Another aspect is that the true catalyst for EV buyers was the sharp increase in fuel prices caused by disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, which has made the lower running costs impossible to ignore.