The UK government has announced £120m of additional funding to help speed up electric vehicle uptake, including the retention of a maximum £500 grant against new electric motorcycles. However, there is no current plan to phase out petrol and diesel two-wheelers in favour of electric alternatives.
Up until 2021, all new electric motorbikes received a price reduction of £1,500 or 20 per cent – whichever was smaller.
However, from then on, electric motorbikes priced up to £10,000 have only been eligible for 35 per cent off, up to a maximum of £500, while mopeds get 35 per cent off, up to a value of just £150.
Reporting on the February 25 extension of these measures, Motorcycle News (MCN) notes that the money is part of a larger £2.3bn 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."
Despite the phraseology here, that 2030 phase out date does not include petrol-powered mopeds and motorbikes - something of a bone of contention within the industry, which we will come to later.
The grant retention certainly sounds like good news to us here at ebiketips, where our remit includes covering road-registerable e-mopeds and e-motorcycles. In the past we have looked at offerings from Niu and Super Soco and been impressed.
The 28mph-limited models we have tried thus far have all been about affordable, accessible and practical electric transport for local journeys. Those as young as 16 with a CBT certificate can ride them and if you passed your driving test before February 1, 2001, you can legally ride with no L plates, without taking compulsory basic training (CBT) or a full moped test - although of course you need requisite insurance however you qualify to ride one.
Whilst positive in itself, the £500 grant against a backdrop of disappointing electric two wheel sales. Trade body the Motorcycle Industry Association's figures showed registrations of electric mopeds and motorbikes were down by 15.9% across February 2025 when compared with the same month in 2024 – with just 299 registered in the first two months of the year. By comparison, petrol powered two-wheelers recorded 7,359 registrations over the same period.
As reported by MCN at the end of last year, the government's online consultation looking into the phase-out of new petrol and diesel car and van sales by 2030 did not include mopeds or motorbikes - meaning there is no current plan to phase them out in favour of electrics. Motorcycle Industry Association Chair Neil Fletcher has criticised “the inertia and uncertainty" fuelled by such government decisions.
