It’s official — the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 have just become a bit more wallet-friendly. Thanks to the UK’s revived Electric Car Grant (ECG), the German brand’s mid-size electric SUVs now qualify for a tidy £1500 discount, nudging prices down to a more tempting £35,495 for the entry-level variant.
That might not sound like much in the world of five-figure EVs, but in car-finance terms, it’s the difference between “hmm, maybe” and “go on then, where do I sign?”.
Volkswagen joins the affordable EV club
The grant applies to Pure Essential, Pure Match, and Pro Essential trims — the more rationally specced ID.4s and ID.5s. That means you can choose between a 168bhp single-motor, rear-drive setup with a 52 kWh battery (good for 221 miles), or a 282bhp twin-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration hooked up to the larger 77 kWh pack, stretching range to a healthier 339 miles.
It’s a pretty compelling mix: proper family-friendly space, decent shove, and the reassurance that you can make it from London to Leeds without playing charging-station roulette.
Volkswagen now has three cars on the ECG roster, joining the ID.3, which slipped under the price threshold earlier this summer and now starts at under £30k. For a brand often accused of letting its EVs hover just above the “sensible money” line, that’s a refreshing change of strategy.
The green light from Westminster
So what’s the catch? Eligibility isn’t just about price tags. The ECG is part of a broader government initiative to promote cleaner motoring, with technical and sustainability criteria baked in — covering everything from component sourcing to manufacturing emissions and shipping.
Out of the 38 electric models currently cleared for the grant, only the Ford Puma Gen-E and E-Tourneo Courier qualify for the higher £3750 level. But even the lower grant tier has been moving metal: the government reckons 20,000 EVs sold last month were ECG-supported.
That’s music to the ears of Keir Mather, the UK’s newly minted Decarbonisation Minister. At just 27, he’s the youngest cabinet minister in two centuries — and now has the unenviable job of steering Britain’s electrified future. His message? Simple. “We want your next car to be electric.”
Charging ahead
To be fair, there are signs it’s working. September saw record-breaking EV sales — more than 70,000 in one month — and the national charging network has just sailed past 83,000 public points, with 100,000 more planned.
So if you’ve been hovering on the fence, waiting for a sign from above (or from Wolfsburg), this might be it. The ID.4 and ID.5 are still unmistakably Volkswagens — solid, sensible, slightly conservative — but now they’re wearing a price tag that looks just a bit more rebellious.
Maybe the electric revolution isn’t coming. Maybe it’s already parked on your driveway — and now it costs £1500 less.
Source: Volkswagen
