How the new Electric Car Grant will move used-EV prices
The Kia EV4 just became the first Kia to qualify for the full £3,750 discount under the UK's Electric Car Grant. Here's why used-EV residuals are the next domino.
The first thing to know about the UK's Electric Car Grant: it isn't a flat discount, it's tiered. Band 1 takes £3,750 off the on-the-road price. Band 2 takes £1,500. Both come out of the manufacturer's pocket and pass straight to the buyer.
The second thing to know: as of 1 June 2026, the Kia EV4 became the first Kia to qualify for the full £3,750. That moves the EV4 Air SR from £34,745 to £30,995 on the road, and the larger Motion LR to £36,745. The reclassification followed a fresh environmental review and a reassessment of the EV4's European-built battery — previously the same car only qualified for Band 2.
It's a tidy headline. But the more interesting story for anyone watching used-EV pricing is what happens to everything else in the segment now that the new-car shelf just got £3,750 cheaper.
Who's on the Band 1 list now
The full £3,750 band currently runs from a £19,245 Renault 5 (52kWh, after grant) to family SUVs near £42,000. Kia's EV4 Air and Motion sit comfortably in the middle of that band, alongside the Renault Scenic which was added in the same June reshuffle.
Worth flagging that Kia's other electric models — the EV2 First Edition and the EV3 Air and GT-Line — still sit on Band 2 at £1,500 off, not £3,750. The headline figure isn't a Kia-wide discount. From Kia's current line-up, only the EV4 Air and Motion variants get the full Band 1 number.
Why used EVs feel this
A new EV that just dropped £3,750 changes the maths for the buyer who was about to take a used one home for similar money. The clearest pressure point is the £25-35k second-hand segment — that's where the Tesla Model Y, Polestar 2, ID.4 and Ioniq 5 cluster, and it's now where a brand-new Kia EV4 Air SR also sits.
Three concrete effects to expect over the next 6-12 months:
1. Compression at the £30k mark. A two-year-old, low-mileage used EV asking £30k now competes with a brand-new EV4 Air SR at £30,995 — same money, but a fresh warranty, no battery uncertainty, and the latest software. Used prices in this band have to slide or sit. 2. Spillover into older stock. When the £30k tier slides, dealers re-price the £25k tier and the £20k tier in step. This is how new-car incentives quietly pull down residuals across the whole segment, even on models that have nothing to do with the grant. 3. A widening gap between qualifying and non-qualifying brands. Premium EVs that don't currently sit on Band 1 keep their list prices, so their used examples lose less ground. Mainstream EVs lose more.
What this means if you're buying
If you're shopping used right now and looking at a recent EV4 — wait a beat, or treat the new-car price as a hard ceiling on what you'll pay. A used 2025 EV4 above £30,995 looks expensive overnight.
For Polestar 2, Model Y, ID.4 and Ioniq 5 buyers, the read is softer but real: list prices on these don't move, but real transaction prices on used examples should ease through the summer as dealers reset around the new floor.
What this means if you're selling
The window to sell a used EV at last year's prices is closing. If your car sits in the segment most exposed — mainstream marque, 2-3 years old, asking £25-35k — every month you hold is a month the new-car shelf gets cheaper underneath you. The honest read: list early, price against what new examples actually cost today including the grant, and accept that "fair value" has shifted.
The Grant isn't a one-off. The eligibility list has been growing steadily through 2026, and each addition nudges the equilibrium a little further. The used-EV market is repricing in slow motion — better to be ahead of it than behind it.