The Government has rolled out details of the first electric vehicles to get the maximum grant in a drive to boost BEV sales,
The first electric vehicles eligible for the £3,750 discount under the government’s grant scheme will be Ford’s Puma Gen-E and e-Tourneo Courier.
Under the grant scheme, the discount applies to new eligible car models costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly ones in their production seeing the biggest reductions. Another 26 models have been cleared for discounts of £1,500.
Carmakers can apply for models to be eligible for grants which are then automatically applied at the point of sale and more are expected to be announced and added in coming weeks.
Meanwhile, British sports car maker Lotus is axing 550 jobs and possibly looking at shifting production abroad from its famous Norfolk base.
It had denied the reduction earlier this year but issued a statement yesterday, “We believe this is necessary in order to secure a sustainable future for the company in today’s rapidly evolving automotive environment, which is seeing uncertainty with rapid changes in global policies including tariffs.
“The brand remains fully committed to the UK, and Norfolk will remain the home of the Lotus’ sports car, motorsports and engineering consulting operations.
“It is actively exploring future growth opportunities to diversify Lotus Cars’ business model, including through third-party manufacturing.”
The company currently has about 1,300 workers at the site it has occupied for about 60 years.
