UK: Renault & MG Motor top up PiCG until end of March

As the British government cuts the Plug-in Car Grants, first carmakers react. Renault UK will top-up the new PiCG of £3,000 by £500 for all Zoe orders placed before 31 March 2020.

This effectively backs up to the previous £3,500 EV subsidy. Renault stresses this is in addition to the existing current retail incentive to switch of £1,000, meaning that a new Zoe will now start from £24,670 (MRRP) inc PiCG and all retail discounts applied.

Changes the British government made to its subsidy policy earlier this week mean, the new policy includes grants of 3,000 pounds for electric cars but only up to a list price of £50,000. At the same time, Britain has extended the grants until 2023, prompting Vincent Tourette, Managing Director, Renault UK to say: “We welcome the longer-term stability of yesterday’s announcement and (…) support the move to restrict the grant eligibility to more affordable vehicles that are most likely to have the largest effect on reducing overall environmental impact.”

The UK will also continue to provide grants to support the purchase of electric vans at the same rate as before, meaning Renault’s all-electric Kangoo ZE and New Master Z.E. remain supported.

Meanwhile, the first new Zoe electric cars are arriving at UK dealers and are available for test drives. The latest model features a new 52kWh battery pack capable of a claimed range of 245 miles (WLTP) and is available with optional 50kW DC fast charging.

In related news, British MG will do the same for its ZS EV. The company announced that it would top-up the Government’s Plug-in Car Grant back to £3,500 for the remainder of March 2020. This means that customers can still purchase the electric SUV from £22,495 when coupled with the PiCG and MG Customer Saving. The 5-seater comes with a WLTP-accredited range of 163 miles and five-star Euro NCAP rating, according to MG.

renault.co.uk (Renault PI), mg.co.uk