The Government has extended and boosted current home and workplace EV charging grants by more than 40% to help cut the cost of installing infrastructure.

Announced today (Wednesday 25 February), the updates mean that renters, flat owners, homeowners without driveways, and businesses will be able to save up to £500 when installing EV charge points.

The current grant programmes end on 31 March 2026 and the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that updated schemes will be introduced from 1 April 2026 for “a further final year”.

The updates will also simplify the current EV charge point support schemes available by reducing eight grant types down to five – which the Government said would streamline the system so people can navigate and select schemes and discounts more easily.

Under the changes, people living in rented accommodation, flat owners, residential landlords, households with on-street parking and businesses will all be able to receive higher grants of up to £500 per charge point. That’s a 43% rise from the previous discount of £350.

At the same time, schools will be eligible for grants of up to £2,000 per socket, building on the 3,700 sockets installed to date.

The increased charging grants mean installation costs for many drivers will be slashed.

The uplift will cover almost half the cost of a typical charge point installation until March 2027, helping thousands more drivers access cheaper domestic electricity rates at home or work.

Keir Mather, aviation, maritime and decarbonisation minister, said: “We’re taking action to make EV ownership the affordable choice for everyone – not just those with driveways. Bigger grants mean families, flat owners, renters and small businesses can now install a charger for almost half the usual cost, with home charging costing as little as 2p a mile.

“Combined with our Electric Car Grant which has saved over 55,000 drivers thousands off the price of a new EV whilst boosting sales for carmakers, and record funding for our national public charging network, we’re backing the EV revolution for drivers, businesses and industry.”

Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the boosted funding for charging grants.

“Many small businesses want to switch to electric vehicles, with half of small businesses (51%) saying that more charging infrastructure would incentivise them to make the switch.

“Small firms want to cut their emissions and reduce their fuel bills and removing or lowering the barriers which currently tip the scales against electric vehicle adoption can only be a good thing – for small businesses, for the economy, and for the planet.”

Meanwhile, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, urged landlords to make best use of the grants now available where it is feasible for them to do so.

ChargeUK also said the expanded grants were a welcome boost for drivers.

But Jarrod Birch, head of policy at the trade body for the EV charging sector, added: “Policy-driven costs mean public charging is more expensive than it needs be, with standing charges alone rising by 462% since 2021.

“The Government’s review into the cost of public charging is the opportunity to address this by levelling VAT with home and tackling the soaring charges that have increased prices. Making driving an EV affordable for all is the route to keeping the transition on track.”

And Vicky Edmonds, chief executive officer of EVA England, said: “Grants must be matched by action to tackle higher public charging prices and speed up acceptance of cross-pavement solutions, otherwise the charging divide will remain and the transition simply won’t feel fair to drivers.”

The latest schemes follow last year’s launch of a £25m funding pot to make it easier for residents without driveways to install home chargers. Accessed through local authorities, the scheme supports the installation of discreet, embedded pavement channels and runs alongside the expanded charge point grant. This means those with on-street parking could get help with both installing the charger and the cross-pavement channel.

Work also continues to expand the UK’s public charging infrastructure, which currently stands at over 116,000 chargers nationwide under new metrics. In total, the DfT says £600m was announced last year to accelerate the charging rollout, building on the 100,000 additional new public chargers the Government is helping councils install in the coming years via the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (Levi) fund.

A government-funded support service for local authorities also continues, helping to ensure charge point installations and locations best serve communities.

Last month, the DfT launched its new ‘Get that electric feeling’ campaign to help drive uptake in EVs by highlighting the benefits of going electric, including savings of up to £1,400 on running costs.