Up to £10k off EVs as makers slash prices to beat new grant
The new ECG was announced last month and will yield a discount on qualifying EVs of either £1500 or £3750
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by Will Rimell
3 mins read
30 July 2025
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Car makers from Hyundai to Volvo are offering up to £3750 off new electric cars as they wait for the arrival of the UK government’s new Electric Car Grant (ECG).
Announced earlier this month, the ECG has been introduced as a way of stimulating EV sales in the UK, following a period of stagnation since the previous government’s Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) was pulled in 2022.
The new ECG, backed by £650 million of government funding, will yield a discount for qualifying cars of either £1500 or £3750, depending on their environmental impact.
To qualify, car manufacturers themselves must meet science-backed emissions targets, while the individual model lines must start at below £37,000 in entry-level trim.
Which discount a model receives is determined by how much CO2 is emitted in an EV’s production, assessing the energy used in vehicle assembly as well as battery manufacturing. Threshold levels have yet to be made public.
While any manufacturer can apply for their car to be included in the scheme, it’s thought that, due to this criteria, cars produced in Asian countries, such as China, South Korea and Japan, will not be eligible for the ECG.
This would include cars from Hyundai, MG and GMW – all three of which have already launched their own equivalent discounts, likely pre-empting that their cars will be denied access to the ECG.
Below are the discounts already being offered by car makers as they await the results of the ECG applications.
Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica – the Italian marque’s first EV – can now be had with £1500 off its list price. This leaves the Polish-made compact crossover retailing for £32,405.
GWM
Chinese firm Great Wall Motor has launched a £3750 grant for the Ora 03 hatchback. The MG 4 EV rival, which was previously named the Funky Cat, now costs just £21,245.
Hyundai
Hyundai is matching the government’s incoming ECG by offering a discount of £3750 on its new Inster hatchback, bringing it down in price to £19,755. The prices of all its other EVs – such as the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric – have been slashed by £1500.
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MG
SAIC-owned Chinese brand MG has launched a discount of £1500 on its 4 EV hatchback and new S5 EV crossover. This brings down the price of the pair to £25,495 and £26,995 respectively.
Leapmotor
Stellantis brand Leapmotor has mirrored the government’s grant with two separate discounts. The Dacia Spring-rivalling T03 city car receives £1500 off, leaving it at £14,495, and the C10 SUV is discounted by £3750 to £32,750.
Skywell
One of the biggest discounts comes from the UK importer of Chinese brand Skywell. It’s offering £3750 off its BE11 – the only car it sells in the UK – on top of a £6000 dealer contribution, meaning the £36,995 SUV can be driven away at £27,245.
Smart
Smart has added a £1500 discount on its #1 and #3 crossovers. This is applied on top of the existing manufacturer contribution of up to-£3000 for the #1 and up to-£2000 for the #3. After both discounts are applied, the #1 starts from £25,460 and the #3 from £30,460. Smart hasn’t said if the new #5 SUV will be included in the discount when it arrives later this year.
Volvo
Volvo has lopped £1500 off the price of its EX30, EX40 and EC40 EVs. With that discount, the EX30 starts from £31,560, the EX40 from £44,760 and the EC40 from £50,410. No discounts are offered on the EX90 or ES90, though.
