Car manufacturers respond to new electric car grant with their own incentives: Vauxhall adds £500 savings across its range

Car makers are starting to offer discounts on electric cars in response to the government’s new electric car grant, which could save buyers up to £3,750 on a new EV. It’ll apply to electric cars which cost less than £37,000 and meet certain environmental criteria, and the first wave of eligible models has been announced.

There is some uncertainty on whether Chinese brands, which offer some of the most affordable electric cars on the market, will be included. As a result, many have started offering their own discounts to tempt buyers in.

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Chinese brands fight back against electric car grant by offering their own discounts

Rather than waiting around for the government to decide whether Chinese models can be included, Great Wall Motors, Skywell and Leapmotor have launched their own discounts which match the government grant. MG is also giving customers £1,500 off a new S5 EV or MG4.

BYD offers five years of free servicing in lieu of discounts

Chinese brand BYD may not be offering money off a new electric car in response to the government’s EV grant, but it is giving customers five years worth of free maintenance on the Atto 3, Dolphin, Dolphin Surf and any approved used BYD model when you buy through its dealers.

BYD has formally applied to be included in the electric car grant, however it may not be eligible to begin with. Steve Beattie, Sales and Marketing Director at BYD UK, said: “We understand that customers are looking for more than just savings upfront – they want lasting value and assurance. While we may not currently be part of the Electric Car Grant, we didn’t want to wait to show our commitment.”

Leapmotor launches the Leap Grant

Newcomer Leapmotor isn’t going to wait for the government to make up its mind on the EV grant, because it’s offering up to £3,750 off the C10 SUV. This brings it down to £32,750, which is still more expensive than a Skoda Elroq.

The tiny T03 city car has also been discounted by £1,500, so it now costs £14,995. That’s exactly the same as a Dacia Spring, but the Leapmotor comes with much more standard equipment.

Commenting on the launch of the new Leap Grant, Leapmotor’s managing director Damien Dally said: “Our mission is to help make the leap to electric cars easy for UK drivers. We’ve decided to act now because we want to give customers clarity, confidence, and immediate savings – and make the switch to electric a simple choice”

MG offering £1,500 discounts

You can now get a £1,500 discount on a new MG S5 EV or MG4 electric car, and that’s on top of any other offers available from the brand.

Guy Pigounakis, Commercial Director for MG, said: “MG has been a key contributor to the EV sector, consistently recognising the economic and environmental benefits of introducing a wide range of affordable, electric-only models. Today’s announcement underlines this commitment and in addition to this, we will also seek to work constructively with the Government to further increase the sale of EVs.”

The MG4 is a former Carwow Car Of The Year, and this discount brings the price down to a very competitive £25,500. That’s over £5,000 less than a Volkswagen ID3. As for the MG S5 EV, that will start from just £27,000 with this offer applied.

GWM offers offers £3,750 off the Ora 03

Great Wall Motors (GWM) has launched what it calls the Green Grant, which gives customers £3,750 off a new Ora 03. This can be used towards the total cost of the car, or it can be used as part of the deposit on a PCP finance package.

The Green Grant is available on all versions of the Ora 03, including the sporty GT model. It also brings the cost of a basic version down to just £21,245. That’s around £10,000 less than a Volvo EX30.

Toby Marshall, GWM’s UK managing director, said: “We don’t believe our customers should have to wait for the government to decide which vehicles qualify for the EV grant. So, we’ve taken matters into our own hands and matched the £3,750 saving, available to everyone, right now, on our ORA 03 range.”

The Ora 03 is a funky-looking little electric car which comes with loads of kit as standard. It may not be the most practical, and some of the tech is fiddly and annoying to use, but it’s easy to forgive these drawbacks with a price this low.

Skywell to match government grant on new BE11

Skywell is a new entrant to the UK market, and it’s launched with the BE11 electric SUV. It was already offering a £6,000 deposit contribution on this car, but now it’s also giving customers an additional £3,750 off to match the government grant.

These two offers combined bring the starting price of the BE11 down from £36,995 to £27,245.

Other brands also getting in on the action

It’s not just Chinese brands which are cashing in on the new electric car grant, because Kia, Hyundai, Volvo, Vauxhall, Toyota and Alfa Romeo have all announced discounts to tempt buyers towards their EVs.

Vauxhall offers £1,500 off all its electric cars, plus extra £500 savings

You can get £1,500 off any new electric Vauxhall as the brand introduces its own grant to tempt buyers into EVs. It applies to electric versions of the Corsa, Astra, Astra Estate, Mokka, Frontera and the Grandland.

Vauxhall is also running a sales event from 23 August to 8 September, giving £500 off the list price of any car. This discount can be combined with the electric car grant, meaning EV buyers could see some of the biggest savings.

Toyota cuts prices on hybrid and electric cars

Not wanting to be outdone, Toyota has announced a raft of savings across most of its model range – not just its sole all-electric model, the bZ4X.

Customers can now save up to £1,000 on a Yaris or Yaris Cross Hybrid. A £1,500 saving is available on the Corolla and C-HR ranges, the RAV4 and the Prius. Meanwhile, a government grant-matching £3,750 price cut is available for the bZ4X, bringing its starting price down to just £36,995 for the ‘Pure’ model.

This cut pushes the bZ4X below the £37,000 eligibility threshold for the EV grant, so it’s possible that it could get a further price cut.

Fiat reintroduces E-Grant of £1,500

Fiat is offering £1,500 off the 500e and 600e, as well as the sporty Abarth versions of both cars. This isn’t the first time the Italian brand has offered discounts to incentivise people to buy electric cars either.

Back in 2023, after the previous Tory government scrapped the original plug-in grant, Fiat was the first to launch its own scheme to tempt drivers towards EV life. Fiat UK managing director, Giuseppe Cava, said: “FIAT is fully committed to making electrified driving more accessible and by reintroducing our E-Grant for our fully electric models on Fiat and Abarth, we are trying to support customers in their transition to fully electric driving.”

Volkswagen’s new £1,500 “grant guarantee”

Volkswagen has jumped on the EV grant bandwagon, offering £1,500 off selected versions of the ID3 hatchback and ID4 SUV. Rod McLeod, Volkswagen UK director, said: “We welcomed the Government’s announcement of its Electric Car Grant and wanted to make sure customers could start benefitting from lower-cost electric motoring as quickly as possible.

“We have already seen an uplift in enquiries since the Government’s grant was announced, which is great news for Volkswagen’s electrification plans.” This £1,500 discount will be available if the government grant is not awarded, but customers won’t be able to claim the £3,750 grant alongside VW’s offer, which is valid from 1 to 31 of August 2025.

Skoda matches Volkswagen’s grant

Skoda is also offering the same £1,500 discount as Volkswagen on the Elroq and Enyaq SUVs. Like with VW, the offer is only valid if the government grant doesn’t apply, you can’t claim both at the same time, and it’s valid until 31 August.

Smart offers £1,500 off the #1 and #3

Smart is the latest brand to hop on the EV grant bandwagon, offering customers a £1,500 discount on the #1 and #3 electric SUVs. It already has a £2,000 dealer discount on the #1, so this new deal brings the total savings on that car to £3,500.

Save £1,500 on a new Volvo EX30

Volvo has also a new discount in response to the government’s electric car grant, giving customers £1,500 off a new Volvo EX30. This applies to all versions of this stylish small SUV, whether that’s the basic single-motor or the ballistically fast Performance model.

We’re actually running a Volvo EX30 for six months to see how it fares as a daily driver, and you can find out more in our long term report.

Get £3,750 off a new Kia EV3

Kia is giving customers a £3,750 discount on a new EV3 Air, the most basic model in its lineup. This is up from their previous £1,000 contribution, according to EMG Motor Group. This offer is available until 30 September 2025.

Hyundai offering £3,750 off a new Inster

Hyundai is offering its own electric grant which gets customers £3,750 off a new Inster, bringing the price of this funky little car down to just £23,500.

It’s also giving customers a £1,500 discount on all of its other electric models, from the Kona Electric all the way up to the new flagship Ioniq 9.

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