Guidance

Plug-in motorcycle grant: eligibility and applications

Updated 6 April 2024

The plug-in motorcycle grant (PiMG) was launched in 2016 to help bridge the price gap between the cost of zero emission motorcycles and petrol motorcycles.

We regularly update the list of eligible vehicles and review grant levels to ensure that they are appropriate for the market.

The plug-in motorcycle grant will continue until at least April 2025 for L3 motorcycles only. The grant closed to L1 mopeds on 6 April 2024.

How the scheme operates

The approved party must apply to the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) to have their vehicles included as part of the scheme.

Approved party refers to manufacturers, sole UK authorised representatives of the manufacturers or the sole UK authorised representative of one of the manufacturer’s approved commercial trade or brand names.

During the application, OZEV will have the motorcycle assessed to ensure it meets the minimum technical criteria for the scheme.

The criteria cover certain technical, performance and consumer assurance requirements and are intended to provide a minimum level of assurance and service to consumers.

The grant will be available to customers at the point of purchase directly from the dealer or manufacturer’s representative. Consumers will not have to go through a grant application process themselves.

The grant will only be payable by OZEV to the approved party. This is subject to a submission of a grant claim by a franchised dealer meeting with all of the conditions of the scheme.

Eligible vehicles

The plug-in motorcycle grant (PiMG) only applies to motorcycles:

• at first (new) registration
• that meet all of the eligibility criteria for the scheme
• that has been approved by OZEV

It does not apply to converted or modified vehicles.

We reserve the right to alter eligibility criteria for any reason. For example, if new safety requirements, regulations or standards come into force, the eligibility criteria will be brought in line with those regulations or standards.

New variants of a vehicle that is already eligible for the grant are not automatically eligible. A variant of a vehicle that requires an extension to type approval documentation will need to be approved separately. Manufacturers should apply for these new variants to be approved under the grant scheme.

If you are unsure whether a new variant of a vehicle needs to be approved, contact PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk.

Definition of price for application of the cap

To be eligible for the PiMG, motorcycles must be priced below a recommended retail price of £10,000. The definition of price includes:

• VAT, including VAT reclaimable by a business
• vehicle manufacturer or dealer’s mandatory extras including delivery charges or administration fees
• the battery cost (including where the battery is leased)
• any non-standard option fitted by the manufacturer or dealer affecting the capacity of the battery, drive train configuration or maximum net power

The definition of price excludes:

• any non-standard option fitted by the manufacturer or dealer that does not affect the capacity of the battery, drive train configuration or maximum net power
• modifications such as ‘police packs’, ambulance or fire engine modifications
• modifications for disabled users
• warranty/insurance and service packages
• first registration fee and cost of first licence
• discounts (including rebates)

Where a vehicle model has a price range that straddles the cap, only those variants or trim levels priced below the cap will be eligible for the grant. Variants or trim levels of eligible vehicles priced above the cap are not eligible for the grant.

EV chargepoint grant

To help private plug-in vehicle owners offset some of the upfront cost of the purchase and installation of a dedicated domestic recharging unit, the government offers the EV chargepoint grant schemes.

Customers who are the registered keeper, lessee or have primary use of an eligible electric vehicle can receive a grant towards the total capital costs of the chargepoint and associated installation costs if they:

• are homeowners who live in flats
• live in rental accommodation (flats and single-use properties)

The scope of the EV chargepoint grant includes motorcycles.

EV chargepoint grant criteria overview for motorcycles

1. Vehicle category: L3 only.
2. Range: 50km.
3. Charging plug type: Type 1, Type 2 (or CCS Combo 2).

Requirements for the other areas of the vehicle required by the PiMG remain the same to be eligible for the EV chargepoint grant.

Manufacturer agreement

Details of the relationship between OZEV and the approved party are described in the OZEV vehicle incentive scheme manufacturers agreement (the manufacturers agreement). This document is only issued to the approved party once a vehicle has been approved by the VCA as eligible under the scheme.

The grant is only payable once the approved party has agreed to the terms and the document is returned signed.

It is intended that the primary relationship will be between OZEV and the approved party.

It will be the responsibility of the approved party to ensure their franchise dealer network provides OZEV with completed grant order forms for each vehicle sold under the scheme.

The approved party will also be responsible for ensuring franchise dealers provide the necessary monthly information in order that they are able to complete the grant claim form.

Grant payments will be made by OZEV directly to the approved party, based on information submitted during the monthly payment run. More information on claiming grants can be found in the grant portal guidance.

Claiming the grant

Once a motorcycle has been formally approved on to the scheme and a signed copy of the manufacturer agreement has been received by OZEV, details of the eligible vehicle will be published on Low-emission vehicles eligible for a plug-in grant.

The manufacturer and its selected dealerships will then be given access to an online portal, through which they can register claims for eligible vehicles.

Claims will be paid to the manufacturer on a monthly basis.

From the customer’s point of view, the grant is deducted from the base price of the vehicle at the point of sale by the dealership, so there is no paperwork for them to complete to benefit from the grant.

Both private consumers and businesses can benefit from the plug-in motorcycle grant when purchasing a qualifying ultra-low emission vehicle and registering it to a UK address^{[footnote 1]}.

Making a vehicle application

The approved party wishing to apply for a vehicle to become eligible for the scheme should contact PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk.

Detailed guidance on how to complete the application form and the supporting evidence required is given in How to complete the PiMG application form.

Supporting evidence should be in English.

Email any questions regarding the application process to PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk and plugingrants@dft.gov.uk.

The assessment process

The VCA and OZEV will aim to process applications as quickly as possible.

Applications will undergo an initial review and response within 3 working days of receipt. We would hope to make a final decision within 3 months. This depends on the complexity of the application and whether further technical information is required.

The assessment process is as follows:

1. The applicant submits completed form A: plug-in motorcycle grant scheme number application to the VCA PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk for a PiMG scheme number.
2. VCA issues the PiMG scheme number and sets up the manufacturer’s account on the VCA’s file transfer system.
3. If the applicant is a new sole representative, they submit the sole representative evidence (including the sole representative agreement, certificate of conformity and whole vehicle type approval document) to PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk for review.
4. OZEV/VCA confirms acceptance of the sole representative evidence.
5. Applicant submits a completed form B: plug-in motorcycle grant application cover sheet, with the necessary supporting evidence, to VCA via the file transfer system.
6. VCA confirms the application documents have been received and all those required are present. Alternatively, it will request any missing documents.
7. The VCA engineer assesses the validity of the documentation presented as evidence. VCA either:
   • decides that the application has passed
   • requests further information from the applicant
   • requests advice from independent technical experts before coming to a decision. This is likely to be on evidence relating to completed vehicle range and/or battery or fuel cell degradation but may be on another aspect of the application
   • decides that the application has failed
8. If the vehicle passes the assessment process, VCA will issue a report to OZEV, which will then send an offer letter to the applicant setting out the terms of acceptance.
9. If the vehicle fails, OZEV will send a letter to the applicant explaining the reasons why. It will recommend steps the approved party might wish to take before resubmitting an application.
10. Once the vehicle is approved and a signed copy of the manufacturer agreement has been received, OZEV will add the vehicle make and model to the official list, making that model eligible under the grant scheme.

OZEV will request that DVLA adds the vehicle model to the portal where grant claims are placed. It will also set up first-time applicants on the DfT finance systems.

Any questions on the process should be sent to PlugInApprovals@vca.gov.uk.

OZEV, or its representatives, will conduct a series of checks on any party that applies for the assessment of a vehicle under the PiMG scheme.

These checks could include credit and fraudulent activity checks as well as checks on customer experiences.

As a result of these checks, OZEV has the right to deny or suspend authorisation of an applicant to the PiMG scheme.

Sole representative agreement requirements

The sole representative agreement between the applicant and the manufacturer must:

• be signed and dated by both parties
• give dates in force
• list vehicle type and commercial name
• say ‘sole representative’
• be on headed paper with the manufacturer name and address. This must be consistent with the information on the whole vehicle type approval (WVTA) unless details are of parent company or group

If manufacturer details do not match those on the WVTA, then suitable evidence of the relationship between the two entities must also be provided.

Additional costs

Cases where independent technical expertise is needed to assess applications are likely to be rare. In such cases, however, there may be a cost to the applicant.

Independent technical advice is most likely to be required when assessing evidence of battery or fuel cell degradation.

If significant further work is required to validate the submitted evidence, the applicant may be asked to meet those costs.

OZEV will let the applicant know if this applies to enable the applicant to decide whether they wish to meet those costs or to withdraw the application.

1. Where registered is defined as being registered in accordance with section 21 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 and licensed for use on UK roads, or registered according to the terms of the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964, and licensed for use on UK roads. ↩