Vauxhall has become the first manufacturer to react to the reduction of the government’s plug-in car grant, slashing the price of its electric Corsa and Mokka models by £3,000.
On 16th December, the government announced an immediate cut of £1,000 in the plug-in car grant designed to attract buyers towards electric vehicles EVs. The grant was reduced to £1,500 and now only applies to models costing less than £32,000, the price threshold lowered from the previous £35,000.
The government move, said to target aid at buyers of more affordable plug-in vehicles and made as EVs claimed 30% of monthly new car sales, sparked great criticism across the car industry. But now in a move that will be watched very carefully by other EV makers, Vauxhall has cut £3,000 from the prices of the Corsa-e supermini and Mokka-e small SUV.
The latest on the plug-in car grant
- Plug-in car grant cut by £1,000 to target cheaper EVs
- Why the car industry needs to stop moaning about plug-in grant cuts
Corsa-e prices with the grant applied will now start from £25.8k and range up to £29.4k. Previously the prices with grant ranged from £27.8k to £31.4k, and the official on-the-road price (without grant) of the Elite variant, at £33.9k, would have excluded it from any government help following the 16th December changes.
Similarly the Mokka-e price list with the grant aid applied ranges from £29.4k to £30.5k. Under the new price threshold none of the Mokka-e range would have qualified for the grant at their previous prices.
Vauxhall managing director Paul Willcox said the changes had been made to help move the UK to electric motoring as quickly as possible.
“With more attainable pricing from significant reductions on both models, as well as the grant, we hope to put zero-emissions-in-use motoring within the reach of even more British motorists,” he said.
Vauxhall recently announced improved electric range figures for both the Corsa-e and Mokka-e. The WLTP-certified figures see the Corsa-e range increased by 13 miles to up to 222 miles while the Mokka-e increases from 201 to 209 miles.
