Does a car have to be registered before the dealer applies for the plug-in car grant?

A friend of mine placed an order with his local dealer for a new electric vehicle. He has the receipt for the £500 deposit paid, and for the trade in of his previous car, which they took, and the £2,500 EV grant. This all occurred in November last year.
The dealer, however, has just phoned him advising the car has now arrived at the docks and is requesting a further £1,000 because the EV grant has subsequently been reduced by that amount. The dealer claims that the car must be registered before the (now reduced) grant can be applied. Please can you advise whether this is right?

Asked on 11 January 2022 by Keith Riding

Answered by Sarah Tooze

Your friend's car will qualify for the £2,500 grant provided the order was placed, the contract was signed and the dealer submitted a request on the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) portal before the grant was changed on 15 December. If the dealer didn't submit a request before that date they will need to speak OZEV.

Tags: buying an ev plug-in grant

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