These are the car brands offering their own £500 plug-in grants until the end of March

The recent Budget contained mixed news for drivers considering an electric vehicle. Confirmation that that plug-in car grant (PICG) will be continued until 2023 was tempered by the news that it was being immediately reduced from £3,500 to £3,000 and would no longer apply to cars costing more than £50,000. Since the announcement several car brands have announced that they will make up the shortfall, albeit for only a short time. Here are the brands offering to top up the government grant if you’re quick. DS French premium brand DS has put a heavy emphasis on the electrification of its range in 2020, including the newly launched DS 3 Crossback E-Tense. Following the cut to the official PICG, it announced that it would fund the £500 on all orders of the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense from now until the end of March, leaving the starting price at £39,490. Buyers will also get a free POD Point home charger and six months’ free subscription to the Polar public charging network. MG Budget brand MG,which already sells one of the UK’s cheapest EVs, was one of the first to announce it would top up the £3,000 grant to its previous £3,500. Daniel Gregorious, head of sales and marketing at MG, said: “With the Government’s announcement that the Plug-in Car Grant is reduced from £3,500 to £3,000, we wanted to be able to help our customers to switch to zero emissions electric MGs without spending more money.” With the maintained grant, which will apply to orders placed by March 31, and a current “customer saving” offer, the ZS EV starts at £22,495. Peugeot Sister brand to DS, Peugeot has followed suit in announcing that it will offer £500 towards the cost of its new EVs until the end of March. The offer applies to the e-208 supermini and e-2008 compact SUV, both of which are currently available to order, although deliveries have not yet begun. David Peel, managing director of Peugeot UK, said: “The Plug-in Car Grant has been hugely successful in helping hundreds of thousands of buyers to make the switch to electric. “By making up the £500 shortfall in funding, we’re aiming to ensure electric vehicles registrations continue to rise, and that the vehicles will remain accessible to as many as possible.” As with DS, Peugeot buyers will also get a free POD Point wallbox and six months’ Polar subscription. Renault Renault has said it is supplementing the reduced grant to “smooth” the transition, which is welcome since the government cut was announced just a few hours before it came into force. For the rest of March anyone placing an order for a Zoe will receive the £3,000 government PICG plus a £500 contribution from Renault. The car maker is also offering a further £1,000 incentive to encourage drivers to go all-electric, meaning that the Zoe will cost from £24,670 until March 31, with a free home wallbox also included in the price.