Renault has confirmed that it will continue to offer new Zoe customers a free installed fast-charging home wallbox, despite changes to recent government funding. As of Tuesday 1st March, the UK Government reduced the levels of money available for the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) and Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), but Renault will continue offering buyers the home charging deal.
Available to retail customers buying the French firm’s all-electric Zoe supermini, Renault’s partner Chargemaster will supply and install a 7kW charging wallbox as part of the deal. This is designed to increase the effectiveness of the Zoe with easy home charging – able to fully charge a Zoe in 3-4 hours – and it also saves the new owner almost £500 since the new grants have come into effect.
As a pure-EV, the Zoe qualifies for the maximum Category 1 PiCG with £4,500 off the purchase price, since it has an all-electric range of more than 70 miles and emits 0 g/km CO2. The government’s funding has been cut by £500 per Category 1 vehicle, though Categories 2 and 3 – plug-in hybrids for example – have seen funding cut from £5,000 to £2,500.
Likewise, the EVHS has seen cuts to previous levels, from up to 75 per cent of the cost of installation to a maximum value of £700, down to the same 75 per cent limit, but now to a maximum value of £500. New Renault Zoe customers don’t need to worry about this though with the confirmation that the home charging deal will continue.
