Vauxhall ‘pre-empts’ Electric Car Grant with its own £1,500 discount

Vauxhall has joined a host of other manufacturers in providing a £1,500 discount on its electric cars in response to the announcement of the Government’s Electric Car Grant. 

Now offered on the pure-electric versions of the Vauxhall Corsa, Mokka, Astra, Frontera and Grandland, Vauxhall’s £1,500 ‘Electric Car Grant’ comes just days after Citroen became the first manufacturer to be officially eligible for the Government grant. Vauxhall said the offer applies to all of its electric cars from today, but also expressed confidence that it would meet the criteria for the Government’s grant, stating the move was “ahead of official confirmation of eligibility from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)”.

Vauxhall and Citroen are both part of the Stellantis empire and many of those aforementioned Vauxhall models share parts, batteries and platforms with Citroen models that have already been declared eligible for the government’s new Electric Car Grant. The grant process run by the government is a ‘first come, first served’ system, so while Vauxhall’s EVs might not qualify for the government grant right now, considering the shared technology between the brands, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them accepted for the official grant soon. 

Citroen’s cars sit in the lower ‘Band 2’, qualifying for a grant of £1,500, but no cars have been announced yet for the larger ‘Band 1’ grant of £3,750. Vauxhall’s grant obviously counters this, essentially meaning that, at least for the customer, there’s no difference. 

With Vauxhall’s new £1,500 discount in place, the Corsa Electric now has an entry price of £26,505, the Frontera Electric starts from £22,495, the Mokka Electric from £31,005, the Astra Electric £33,505 and the Grandland Electric flagship £35,455. 

If that still sounds too expensive, then you can check out the Auto Express marketplace for fantastic deals on used electric Vauxhalls from under £9,000. 

Vauxhall’s new £1,500 grant might not last long because the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has previously indicated that a more detailed list of the qualifying cars for the Government’s grant will be published on August 11. With Citroen already formally announced, Vauxhall is expected to follow soon after, while we’re also yet to hear from fellow Stellantis firm Peugeot, with its Corsa Electric sibling, the E-208, and the E-2008 possibly in line for the £1,500 grant. 

Even with Vauxhall’s new grant, the company’s ‘Electric All In’ package remains, adding eight years of roadside assistance (including charging assistance), £500 towards an Ohme home wallbox, Tesco charging or Octopus charging credit, plus 10,000 miles worth of free home charging when switching to an Octopus tariff. 

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