MG latest Chinese brand to offer EV discounts following Electric Car Grant

MG Motor UK is offering a £1,500 reduction on its MG4 and MGS5 electric vehicles following the announcmcent of the Electric Car Grant (ECG) last week.

Leapmotor and GWM UK have already launched there own discounts to get ahead of any uncertainty as to whether their models qualify for Government funding.

In a statement MG said it "strongly supports the Government’s Electric Car Grant announcement as a statement of its ongoing commitment to a Net Zero environment and the key role the increased adoption of electric vehicles will play in that".

The MG grant will also be over and above any incentives currently offered by MG’s 155 UK dealer partners.

Guy Pigounakis, commercial director for MG Motor UK, said: "MG has been a key contributor to the EV sector, consistently recognising the economic and environmental benefits of introducing a wide range of affordable, electric-only models.

"This further incentive underlines this commitment and in addition to this, we will also seek to work constructively with the Government to further increase the sale of EVs."

The Government has suggested that Chinese-made EVs will not qualify for its new electric car grant based on the environmental standards of production facilities.

To qualify for the £650 million scheme, electric cars must have a recommended retail price (RRP) of £37,000 or less, with two levels of grant available depending on the carmaker’s sustainability standards.

The ‘greenest’ vehicles in band one will receive up to £3,750, with band two vehicles receiving up to £1,500.

The ECG requires manufacturers to have committed to a verified science-based target (SBT) and have embodied carbon scores below a certain threshold.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme last week, transport minister Lilian Greenwood said she did not expect any cars that are assembled in China to be eligible for the grant.

“The grant is restricted to those manufacturers that reach minimum environmental standards,” she added.

“And, frankly, if you generate a lot of the electricity that powers your factory through coal power stations, then you are not going to be able to access this grant."