Millions of people across the UK have been handed a major boost by Labour to help drivers switch to electric vehicles with a new £500 grant for home chargers.
Labour has confirmed that renters, landlords and businesses will be able to claim up to half the cost of installing an electric vehicle charger, with potential savings of up to £500.
The electric vehicle chargepoint grant has been extended until March 2027 and will help motorists slash the costs associated with the installation of an EV charger at home or at work.
The latest announcement from the Government comes as the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles draws closer, with electric vehicles being pushed by Labour.
From April 1, 2026, people living in rented accommodation, flat owners, residential landlords, households with on-street parking, and businesses will all be able to receive higher grants of up to £500 per charge point.
This has been welcomed by experts, with the Government raising the discount from its previous level of £350.
Schools will also be eligible for grants of up to £2,000, and will build on the 3,700 electric vehicle charging sockets already installed to date.
Motorists who invest in a home charger and use an EV-friendly tariff could charge their electric cars for as little as 2p per mile, allowing more petrol and diesel drivers to switch to cleaner forms of transport.
Electric vehicle owners have been backed by new charging funding from the Government
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Keir Mather, Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister, said: “We’re taking action to make EV ownership the affordable choice for everyone – not just those with driveways.
“Bigger grants mean families, flat owners, renters and small businesses can now install a charger for almost half the usual cost, with home charging costing as little as 2p a mile.”
The Labour MP for Selby highlighted that the Government had also supported drivers with the Electric Car Grant, which has already been used by more than 55,000 drivers.
More than 40 models are available for the ECG, which sees drivers save either £1,500 or £3,750 off the price of a new electric car, including some of the most popular models on the market.
Experts have praised the additional funding for drivers to install EV chargers at home
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Updates will also be rolled out to simplify the current EV chargepoint support scheme by reducing the number of grants from eight to five in a bid to streamline the provision.
This will include the chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners, residential landlords, households with on-street parking, the Workplace Charging Scheme and the Workplace Charging Scheme for State-Funded Education Institutes.
Commenting on the new funding, Ginny Buckley, the chief executive of Electrifying.com, said the Government should focus on making electric vehicles more affordable for drivers, rather than making homes more valuable for landlords.
She continued, saying: “You can now pick up a great secondhand EV for around £10,000, bringing electric driving within reach of many more households.
Labour recently announced additional provisions for electric vehicle charging gulleys
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“But if installing a home charger means finding another £1,000 or more, that cost can easily become the deciding factor between sticking with petrol or making the switch.”
Ms Buckley called for a “broader approach to affordability”, which looks at all costs associated with switching to electric vehicles, as motorists with driveways may not be able to afford to install an EV charger.
Data from the Federation of Small Businesses shows that more than half of companies would switch to electric vehicles if there were a greater provision of chargers.
“Small firms want to cut their emissions and reduce their fuel bills and removing or lowering the barriers which currently tip the scales against electric vehicle adoption can only be a good thing – for small businesses, for the economy, and for the planet,” policy chair at the FSB, Tina McKenzie added.
