Scoop: DfT reveals ‘live debate’ over EV grant future

Plus, Waymo had more 1-2-1 ministerial facetime at DfT than most businesses

Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.

Top story in today’s edition... The Department for Transport refuses to disclose its impact assessment for the £650m EV grant. Why? They suggest there will be ‘near future’ changes.

In other news... On the day they announce they’re coming to London, I reveal Google’s Waymo has had more 1-2-1 ministerial facetime at DfT than most businesses.

Elsewhere... The UK’s charging network grew by 4,000 devices in Q3, and the IFS shares some early Budget thoughts on motoring taxes. Additionally, Duracell, of the battery rabbit variety (not the Ann Summers kind), is entering the EV charging market.

Finally, there will be no newsletter next week, I’m off on my first holiday since Spring 2024. Next edition will be on 29 October. As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. 👍

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Exclusive: DfT letter reveals ‘live debate’ about EV grant scheme changes

Summary: After the launch of the new EV grant in July this year, given that the Department for Transport publicly pledged a huge £650 million towards the scheme, I decided to request the official impact assessments used by ministers to weigh up spending such a large amount of taxpayer’s cash versus the ‘EV registration’ gain from launching it.

Unsurprisingly... As has become standard for any FOI request I make to DfT, I was refused. The department cited a clause essentially suggesting it would impact internal communications. In response, I asked the government to review the decision, considering the large amount allocated to this programme, especially as so many carmakers seemed bemused by the scheme design. Even now, Ford is the only carmaker eligible for the full £3,750 grant.

After lots of delays... I finally got back the review decision this week. In short, my appeal failed. But why it failed is insightful, as the letter from DfT to explain, perhaps, inadvertently reveals ministers are in live discussions about making changes to the scheme in the ‘near future’.

Specifically, the DfT letter explained why I’d been refused by saying: