EXCLUSIVE: China has hit out at Labour and Sir Keir Starmer over the party’s new flagship electric car policy.
Keir Starmer has been called out for excluding Chinese cars from his EV grant (Image: Getty)
One of China’s biggest electric car brands has called out Sir Keir Starmer and Labour for excluding them from the Government’s EV grant scheme. BYD UK boss Bono Ge questioned why the Chinese manufacturer was not eligible for discounts despite selling cars for under the £37,000 threshold.
The grant offers up to £3,750 off the price of a brand new electric model with most vehicles qualifying for around a £1,500 payout. However, tough rules around environmental standards are taken into account, with every Chinese-branded model not qualifying for funding. Meanwhile, many Western manufacturers are eligible with the maximum grants issued to two Ford motors, while Citroen, Renault and Vauxhall are among the brands qualifying for £1,500 savings.
BYD UK boss Bono Ge has weighed in on Labour’s EV grant (Image: Luke Chillingsworth)
Despite being excluded, BYD has explained that the company does “want to be included” in the scheme but has come up with ways to counter the discount by offering extra incentives to customers.
Speaking exclusively to the Express, Ge said: “Firstly I think we understand why the UK government makes policies like this because they want to attract more people to use electric vehicles. I think the intention is a good intention. This also matches with our ambition as well. We also want more people using electric vehicles.
“Of course, we want to be included, why shouldn’t we? But actually, if we’re not included, we also need to make sure we still offer more as more product and good choice to the consumers. That is the reason why we have enhanced the battery warranty. Now it’s eight years or over 200,000km (155,000 miles).”
Grants are only issued to manufacturers who meet certain environmental criteria such as being committed to a verified science-based target (SBT). BYD would ordinarily qualify with most of its cars around the £30,000 mark, way below the £37,000 cut-off required to secure a payment.
BYD is now starting to outsell Tesla in Europe with 13,503 total battery electric vehicle registrations in July compared to Tesla’s 8,837. In the UK alone, BYD outsold Tesla in May with a further 1,700 models leaving the forecourt in July.
BYD UK has confirmed that select models, including the Dolphin, Dolphin Surf and new Atto 3, will benefit from five years of free servicing.
BYD is not the first model to offer its own incentives with Leapmotor already confirming up to £3,750 discounts in direct competition to Labour’s offer.
BYD has already offered extra incentives to customers to offset the grant (Image: Luke Chillingsworth)
However, BYD boss Ge has claimed Labour’s grant fails to tackle two of the biggest concerns among customers, namely running costs and range concerns.
He pointed out that some electric car owners who are forced to charge up at public charging bays were paying an additional premium through no fault of their own. Charging an electric car at a public plug in the UK is subject to a 20% VAT rate, compared to just 5% at home.
Ge told Express.co.uk: “What’s the running cost, if you are charging at your house, you’re only going to pay 7 pence per kWh charging. But if you don’t have a house, if you don’t have a charger yourself and you are using the public charging network, you are probably going to be paying 89p per kWh.
“I think that’s an even bigger thing than the purchase of the vehicle. It’s a range concern, so whether the Government gave you a grant, you have the concerns about range. I don’t think that will solve the issue.”
The Governemet says it has no plans to reduce VAT on EV charging (Image: Getty)
The DfT said that the supply of energy for domestic use, including charging an EV at home, attracts the reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent). Public EV charging is subject to the standard rate of VAT (20 per cent). This matches the VAT treatment of petrol and diesel, as well as all non-domestic electricity.
The Government confirmed they had no current plans to reduce VAT on public EV charging, but stressed they keep all taxes under review.
A Department for Transport spokesperson told the Express: “Our Electric Car Grant is slashing prices for consumers, giving drivers across the UK access to new electric cars for less – with 35 models now eligible.
“This £650 million scheme is targeted at the most affordable electric vehicles with the strongest environmental credentials, helping families make the switch to cleaner cars while putting money back into the pockets of working people.
“We’re also investing £25 million to help people without a driveway charge easily and cheaply at home, saving drivers £1,500 a year compared to a petrol car.”
