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Car makers from Hyundai to Volvo are offering up to £3750 off new electric cars as they wait for the arrival of the UK government’s new Electric Car Grant (ECG).

Announced earlier this month, the ECG has been introduced as a way of stimulating EV sales in the UK, following a period of stagnation since the previous government’s Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) was pulled in 2022.

The new ECG, backed by £650 million of government funding, will yield a discount for qualifying cars of either £1500 or £3750, depending on their environmental impact. 

To qualify, car manufacturers themselves must meet science-backed emissions targets, while the individual model lines must start at below £37,000 in entry-level trim.

Which discount a model receives is determined by how much CO2 is emitted in an EV's production, assessing the energy used in vehicle assembly as well as battery manufacturing. Threshold levels have yet to be made public.

While any manufacturer can apply for their car to be included in the scheme, it's thought that, due to this criteria, cars produced in Asian countries, such as China, South Korea and Japan, will not be eligible for the ECG.

This would include cars from Hyundai, MG and GMW – all three of which have already launched their own equivalent discounts, likely pre-empting that their cars will be denied access to the ECG.

Below are the discounts already being offered by car makers as they await the results of the ECG applications.

Alfa Romeo

The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica – the Italian marque’s first EV – can now be had with £1500 off its list price. This leaves the Polish-made compact crossover retailing for £32,405.

Fiat

Italian car maker Fiat has brought back its £1500 'E-Grant' as it awaits its models eligibility decision. This discount is applied to the 500e, 600e and equivalent Abarth models. This drops pricing for the 500e to £23,535; the 600e to £28,535; the Abarth 500e to £28,485; and the Abarth 600e to £35,485. The upcoming Grande Panda Elettrica, which starts from £20,975, is not discounted.

GWM

Chinese firm Great Wall Motor has launched a £3750 grant for the Ora 03 hatchback. The MG 4 EV rival, which was previously named the Funky Cat, now costs just £21,245.

Hyundai

Hyundai is matching the government's incoming ECG by offering a discount of £3750 on its new Inster hatchback, bringing it down in price to £19,755. The prices of all its other EVs – such as the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric – have been slashed by £1500.

MG

SAIC-owned Chinese brand MG has launched a discount of £1500 on its 4 EV hatchback and new S5 EV crossover. This brings down the price of the pair to £25,495 and £26,995 respectively.

Leapmotor

Stellantis brand Leapmotor has mirrored the government’s grant with two separate discounts. The Dacia Spring-rivalling T03 city car receives £1500 off, leaving it at £14,495, and the C10 SUV is discounted by £3750 to £32,750.

Skywell

One of the biggest discounts comes from the UK importer of Chinese brand Skywell. It's offering £3750 off its BE11 – the only car it sells in the UK – on top of a £6000 dealer contribution, meaning the £36,995 SUV can be driven away at £27,245.

Smart

Smart has added a £1500 discount on its #1 and #3 crossovers. This is applied on top of the existing manufacturer contribution of up to-£3000 for the #1 and up to-£2000 for the #3. After both discounts are applied, the #1 starts from £25,460 and the #3 from £30,460. Smart hasn't said if the new #5 SUV will be included in the discount when it arrives later this year.

Volvo

Volvo has lopped £1500 off the price of its EX30, EX40 and EC40 EVs. With that discount, the EX30 starts from £31,560, the EX40 from £44,760 and the EC40 from £50,410. No discounts are offered on the EX90 or ES90, though.

Nissan is considering using its Formula E team to develop prototype versions of hot EVs that could be used to help create future Nismo performance models. 

Tommaso Volpe, Nissan’s Formula E team boss, told Autocar there are internal talks about how the Paris-based squad can aid the Nismo division in the development of future road-going electric performance cars. 

The Japanese firm currently offers a warmed-up Nismo-badged version of the Ariya electric SUV, but company boss Ivan Espinosa previously told Autocar the firm had “exciting plans” for future sports cars, suggesting he wanted four or five halo models to top the line-up.

While he stressed plans had not been agreed yet, Volpe said a proposal was under consideration for the squad to develop “some prototypes based on normal chassis that can help the Nismo division to enhance the performance of electric cars”. 

He added: “We have the Ariya Nismo now, which has no influence from Formula E, but we are considering a collaboration for future models. We could do a prototype version, then they could use that as a base to develop future products.” 

Any future test mule is likely to be based around the twin-motor all-wheel-drive running gear of a Formula E racer and would be focused on helping Nismo learn about optimising the efficiency of electric performance cars and refining traction management with all-wheel-drive powertrains. 

Notably, Formula E will introduce a new Gen4 technical package for the 2026/27 season. The regulations are set to feature powertrains with permanent all-wheel drive using a pair of motors to produce around 800bhp – up from the 469bhp of the current cars. 

Volpe said the technology transfer in Formula E to date has generally gone from road car to race car, citing lines of Leaf software code used in the programming of the race car powertrain. 

But he added that would switch with the new machines. “The development of the Gen4 cars will be when potential transfers will come from the racing cars to future [road] products, because the level of performance and efficiency will be pushed even more to the limit,” said Volpe.

“Also, they will be all-wheel-drive. With the Ariya we have strong expertise of all-wheel-drive electric powertrains and controlling the grip on four wheels independently. There is a huge possibility of transfer with our future products. 

“The regulations of Gen4 have been written in an open conversation with manufacturers, and one of the reasons all-wheel drive is there is because of a strong push by Nissan and some other manufacturers, because all-wheel drive is the trend for the core business in the future.”

The next era of BMW will begin in September with the arrival of the first Neue Klasse electric car: the iX3 SUV.

Confirmed to be revealed at the Munich motor show ahead of sales starting early next year, the SUV - which we've already driven in protoype form - marks major milestones for BMW, as it introduces advanced underpinnings and a design that will be adopted across the rest of the brand.

It will go up against the forthcoming electric Mercedes-Benz GLC – a car that will also be revealed at Munich. The pair will fight for a foothold in Europe’s most hotly contested new car segment in a bid to increase EV sales in the face of tightening emissions regulations.

The new iX3 will be followed soon after by an electric BMW 3 Series saloon, although a date for this unveiling has yet to be confirmed.

Previewed last year by the bold Neue Klasse Vision X concept, the second-generation iX3 will be sold alongside the current, fourth-generation petrol X3 and sit on the all-new Neue Klasse architecture. 

As a result, the new iX3 will have slimmer batteries, more efficient motors and clever technology that BMW claims will be a “quantum leap forward” from today’s electric offerings. 

The size of its nickel-manganese-cobalt pack – which features new cylindrical cells – has yet to be disclosed, but BMW said the iX3 will offer a range of 497 miles – 210 miles more than the first-generation iX3. 

That would make the new iX3 Britain’s longest-range EV, going even farther than the new Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ saloon, which currently tops the charts at 484 miles. 

An 800V electrical architecture will mean the iX3's battery will also be able to charge at up to 400kW, enabling a 218-mile top-up in just 10 minutes from suitable chargers. 

Two powertrains will be available when the iX3 arrives in the UK early next year: a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive one and a dual-motor, four-wheel drive one that can deliver up to 402bhp. 

The second-generation iX3 also receives a new computing system that is 10 times faster than the network of chips in current BMWs. 

In addition, to maximise interior space within this set-up and to keep vehicle height as low as possible to aid aerodynamics, BMW will unusually bolt the front seats directly to the pack – another first for the firm.

Visually, the new iX3 will draw on the original Neue Klasse models from the 1960s and return to small kidney grilles rather than the bolder, more expansive front ends that adorn the likes of the iX. 

The double-kidney grille will divide a large, gloss black panel on the iX3’s front end – similar in style to the Vizor found on Vauxhalls. The panel is likely to conceal the sensors and cameras required by the latest generation of driver assistance systems. 

The rest of the car will feature a boxier, more chiselled look than today’s models, with angled lights front and rear, plus a rear light bar. The reinvention continues inside the iX3, which will be the fi rst car to employ BMW’s new iDrive X system. 

Previewed earlier this year, this comprises a large, sloped central infotainment screen, above which a head-up display spans the entire width of the dashboard. 

Traditional buttons are out, with BMW claiming the new set-up allows it to offer more complex and varied options, which can be updated over the air during the car’s life. 

In place of buttons are toolbars and customisable widgets on the touchscreen, as well as voice control that is said to be more intuitive than today’s set-up. 

The steering wheel has been redeveloped as well. Its design moves from three spokes to four but it retains haptic buttons for important functions such as cruise control. 

Christian Bauer, BMW vice-president of user interface design, told Autocar earlier this year: “Our slogan is ‘eyes on the road and hands on the wheel’, which means everything has to be in a perfect situation."