The Plug-In Grant for electric scooters and motorcycles is still available, despite the UK Government deciding to axe the grant for electric cars with immediate effect. There was even a hint that the money saved from the e-car grant would be used to encourage users of other vehicles (including bikes) to go electric.

Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said, “Having successfully kickstarted the electric car market, we now want to use plug-in grants to match that success across other vehicle types, from taxis to delivery vans and everything in between, to help make the switch to zero emission travel cheaper and easier.” She added that successive cuts in the electric car grant had not harmed sales – battery cars now make up 1 in 4 of new sales.

However, the two-wheeler grant has not been increased. It was slashed from a ceiling of £1500 in December 2021 to £150 for mopeds and up to £500 for motorcycles costing up to £10,000. But it is still available, reflecting the fact that electric motorcycle adoption lags way behind that of electric cars. Electric two-wheeler sales are increasing fast, but still make up less than 5% of the total, concentrated in the scooter market – battery bikes made up 44% of moped sales in May 2022.

“While any grant seems like a nice idea, in reality it’s not really a decision-making amount. The real issues with bigger battery bikes remain charging infrastructure and range anxiety, as well as cost. Smaller Powered Two-Wheelers (PTWs) with removable batteries remain a very attractive option, particularly for urban users.” said BMF Chair Jim Freeman.

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Zero Motorcycles