UK electric industry welcomes £500 plug-in grant retention but says more decisive action is required
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A rider admires the Maeving RM1 -
Maeving RM1S pulling out of a junction -
Super Soco TC Max pulling across a junction -
Zero DSR/X being charged up -
Zero SR/F naked cornering -
Zero SR/S cornering
On February 25, the UK Government announced they would be rolling out £120million of additional funding to support the acceleration of electric vehicle uptake – with the motorcycle industry retaining a £500 plug-in grant for another year as part of this.
The money is part of a larger £2.3billion pot to support drivers, businesses, fleet vehicles, and more – with UK motorists buying 382,000 electric cars across 2024 ahead of a total combustion-engine phase out by 2030.
The picture in the motorcycle industry looks rather different though, with no fixed phase out dates yet established, sales continuing to struggle, and increasing calls for a more open-source approach allowing other technologies.
“It is really important that the inertia and uncertainty that’s regarding our role in transport across policy currently is ended,” Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) Chair, Neil Fletcher said during an annual Industry Conference in February.
MCIA figures showed registrations of electric bikes were down by 15.9% across February 2025 when compared with same month in 2024 – with just 299 registered in the first two months of the year.
The Department for Transport announced changes to the plug-in grant on December 15, 2021, meaning battery-powered motorcycles priced up to £10,000 would now get 35% off up to a maximum value of £500. Mopeds could get up to 35% off, to the value of £150.
“For me, really, the key thing is missed opportunity” Co-founder of Coventry-based Maeving Motorcycles, Will Stirrup told MCN. “Getting more people onto electric two wheelers in urban environments [would be] significantly more environmentally friendly from a carbon production perspective than an electric car – just because of the smaller batteries.”
Maeving currently produce the RM1 and RM1S retros and further expanded sales into California, Germany, and France last year.
“More Government support would be really helpful in increasing uptake, but the products should speak for themselves,” Stirrup continued. “The attitude of most major motorcycle companies going ‘the technology is too far away’ well who’s going to change that? That needs to be you.
“We look at 2030 and absolutely plan on having a product that is equivalent or superior to an internal combustion engine, high-power bike, and we’re tiny.”
Elsewhere, UK Country Manager at Zero Motorcycles, Dale Robinson wants more commitment from the Government, claiming a lack of fixed phase-out dates and a past scaling back of subsidies has sent out the wrong message.
“We can go back to December 2021 when the Government announced that the £1500 subsidy for premium electric motorcycles was about to disappear, and we can chart the slowdown of sales from that point.
“The reason for it isn’t just affordability, it was more to do with the message that it sent – as it contradicted the fact that electric was the future.”
Much of the Californian brand’s product range is priced at over £10,000 meaning it’s no longer eligible for any money off. Robinson went onto add that he would like to see bikes more readily available on company salary sacrifice schemes.
“The thing that would probably make the biggest difference is the charging cost,” Director of dealership English Electric Motor Co, Alec Sharp added. “If they could charge up out and about at what they used to be able to – which was about a third of the cost – that would make a big difference for a lot of people.”
