The Government has announced plans to scrap the £500 plug-in grant for zero emission motorcycles – Pixfly/iStockphoto
Electric motorcycle sales are set to plunge over the next five years in a blow to Labour’s net zero plans, top manufacturers such as Honda have warned.
A new study for the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) predicts that the scrapping of grants for zero emission bikes will lead to around 6,500 fewer sales between now and 2031.
That is equivalent to a reduction of almost 50pc compared to a scenario where the grant remains and has been described as a major “own goal” by leading companies including Maeving and Honda.
They have warned they will be forced to scale back their ambitions in Britain and focus on other markets abroad, with bosses warning that the Government is leaving domestic manufacturers exposed to heavily-subsidised rivals from China.
The MCIA study, carried out by WPI Economics, forecasts that UK sales will drop to just 1,500 in 2026-27, compared to almost 2,500 bikes in 2025-26.
The figure is then expected to settle at around 1,300 per year for the rest of this decade.
The study blames the drop on the Government’s decision to scrap the £500 plug-in grant for motorcycles, announced earlier this month. The grant was previously worth £1,500 until it was reduced in 2021.
Will Stirrup, co-founder of British electric motorbike brand Meaving, which makes the best-selling RM1, said: “It feels like such an own goal, because Britain has the best player in the space and there’s a massive potential to unblock our roads, to have them quieter, have them cleaner, have everyone getting to work quicker.
“When the grant got cut from £1,500 to £500. we saw the number of electric two-wheelers sold in the UK fall through the floor.
“We’ve continued to grow through that period. But we could be going a lot faster if that support remained. So we will probably focus more on our international markets as a result of this.”
The previous Conservative government considered a ban on combustion engine motorcycles in the 2030s – Tom Farmer
Ministers have made switching from petrol-fuelled to electrically-powered vehicles one of the key pillars of their net zero strategy, alongside the decarbonisation of heating.
The Government previously cancelled grant support for electric cars in 2022 under the Conservatives after claiming it had “successfully kickstarted” demand – only for Labour to introduce a new scheme last summer worth up to £3,750 per car.
Labour has similarly announced grant support for zero-emission vans and trucks this month. But at the same time, ministers confirmed the plug-in grant for motorcycles would end after this month.
On Friday, the Department for Transport said motorcycles represented just 3.4pc of all licensed vehicles and 0.5pc of transport’s carbon emissions.
A spokesman added: “This grant supported over 15,000 riders to switch to electric, but we need to focus funding on vehicles that have the highest impact to our environment.”
Under the Conservatives, the Government previously considered implementing a ban on combustion engine motorcycles in the 2030s.
But electric motorcycle and scooter sales have generally been weak so far, with only around 3,300 sold in 2025, according to MCIA figures.
That represented a decline of 12pc on the previous year and compared to 90,600 combustion engine bikes sold.
Manufacturers have argued that the numbers are partly the consequence of flip-flopping government support.
Andrew Mineyko, the boss of Honda UK’s motorcycle business, agreed his firm and others would be forced to scale back their sales efforts in Britain following the scrapping of the grants.
Honda currently sells the CUV e: scooter and is preparing to launch the WN7 electric motorcycle as well.
Mr Mineyko said: “Electric motorcycles and scooters are in their infancy in the UK. So this will really set the market back quite a bit.”
