Dealer guidance for the A3 electric vehicle grant funding programme

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We're seeking light commercial vehicle dealers to become accredited to the Electric Towns and Cities Initiative (ETCI) - Guildford.

The A3 EV grant scheme offers grants of £5,000 for a small and £10,000 for a large new fully electric van for businesses to switch from their diesel van. To be eligible businesses need to do at least 150 single journeys annually - that's approximately 3 single trips a week or 6 return trips a month - on the section of the A3 between A31 to Farnham junction and Woodbridge Hill junction to A25 and A322.

The new fully electric vans have to be purchased through an ETCI accredited dealer. Only franchised dealers can apply to be accredited.

How does the grant scheme work?

Applications are open for businesses and charities to apply for an A3 electric vehicle (EV) grant from Electric Towns and Cities Initiative - Guildford.

Applicants can only purchase eligible new fully electric vehicles from accredited dealers. (see electric light commercial vehicle eligible list)

The grant will be paid directly to accredited dealer on behalf of the applicant, to ensure a comprehensive audit trail, accountability of public funding and to reduce the risk of fraudulent activity. The grant can only be claimed on new vehicles at first registration. Post registration vehicles are not eligible.

Dealers will be given training and support to help the scheme run smoothly for all.

Here's how the grant process works:

  1. Confirm with applicant that they fit eligibility criteria and can provide evidence
  2. Business to apply for a grant online. No money to be exchanged and no order placed before application
  3. Business application reviewed and approved by Surrey County Council (SCC)
  4. A voucher is issued to the applicant, the voucher is valid for 90 days
  5. The dealer confirms the vouchers validity and deducts the grant value from sale price. The grant is paid in trust to the dealership 3 days before completion/collection date. The grant is net of VAT, against the full price of the vehicle only, excluding any additional services which the dealer may provide and charge for
  6. Vehicle sale cannot be completed until the SCC approved telematics is installed and operating. Once the purchase is confirmed with full title guarantee, the money can be released from the trust to the dealership's business account

Is the A3 EV grant compatible with other funding?

The Plug In Grant offering £2,500 for a small van and £5,000 for a large van, can be claimed in conjunction with the A3 EV grant.

The A3 EV grant scheme may also be compatible with the following options:

  • Finance, lease, cash on the remainder of the vehicle's cost
  • Scrappage schemes if eligible
  • Our decarbonisation loan programme (up to £25,000, up to 50% of vehicle costs) coming up in Spring 2024

What are the dealership accreditation criteria?

To be accredited a dealership must fulfil the following criteria

  • Be a franchise dealership with physical premises
  • Have been trading for at least 3 years
  • Have a UK bank account in the Dealership's name
  • Be VAT-registered
  • Not or about to be in administration or bankrupt
  • Must be FCA (Financial conduct authority) registered
  • Must sell at least one vehicle from electric light commercial vehicle eligible list

What are the terms and conditions of dealer accreditation?

Before starting your application to become an accredited dealer, please read the ETCI - Guildford dealership Terms and Conditions carefully. The application process requires the Dealership to accept these terms and conditions, so it is important that the person making the application on behalf of the dealership is authorised to do so. Part of our eligibility checks may include validation checks to ensure that the person making the application on behalf of the Dealership is authorised to do so.

You can read the full terms and conditions of the dealership accreditation for the ETCI - Guildford.

How to become an accredited dealership

We're looking to work with franchised dealerships selling new electric light commercial vehicles. You can see the electric light commercial vehicle eligible list

You can apply online through our dealer application form. You will need to provide information and upload documents about your business. You may upload photos, scans or screenshots, including from your phone, but they must show the entire page and be clear enough to read. Files can be uploaded in JPG, PNG, or PDF formats.

Please have the following information ready when you complete the form:

  • Company Number
  • Franchisee Number
  • VAT Registration Number
  • Financial Conduct Authority Number
  • Bank details
  • Company Accounts

By completing this form, you are applying to become an ETCI - Guildford approved dealership. The application will be sent to the ETCI - Guildford Team for review, they will notify you of the outcome of your application ideally within 10 working days. However, this may take longer due to high volumes of applications.

Dealer accreditation apply now

What are the benefits of accreditation?

The A3 EV grant scheme is seeking to award 1,000 grants of £5,000 or £10,000 towards the cost of new electric light commercial vehicles (N1 or M1) over the next two years.

Being an accredited dealer will enable you to:

Drive sales

Businesses who are interested in applying and benefiting from the grant can only purchase their new fully electric vehicle from an accredited dealership. This means you would be best place to make the most of the pool of businesses seeking to purchase a new electric van.

The grant is also a strong financial incentive for qualifying businesses to proceed with their purchase, making a sale a little easier and being compatible with other schemes means it makes the purchase of a new Electric vehicle far more accessible.

Meet your objectives

Franchised dealerships have been given targets to sell more electric vehicles, this will help you drive sales and therefore meet your objectives.

Marketing support

Accredited dealers are listed on the Surrey County Council website and receive marketing materials.

Dealer accreditation apply now

What dealers need to do

  1. Accreditation
    • Register to get accredited, you can see more information and link to apply in the accreditation section above
    • Notify us of any changes to dealership details including bank details at etcidealerships@surreycc.gov.uk
  2. Promote the scheme to eligible businesses
    • You can use the quick grant eligibility check with your customers to check on whether they are likely to be approved for an A3 EV grant.
    • If you would like to receive a pop up banner to display in your premises or a digital copy of the applicant factsheet leaflet please get in touch with the team on etcidealership@surreycc.gov.uk
    • Please use the scheme's social media and other assets.
  3. Van sale
    • Detailed processes are available on our dealer detailed processes page
    • Do not take any sales orders until you are an accredited dealer.
    • Wait for the business to supply you with the grant voucher.
    • You will need to check the validity of any electric vehicle voucher us before confirming any sale– please read the voucher validation process for more information.
    • Organise for telematics to be installed prior to vehicle handover to the applicant. You will need to allow at least 5 days for the telematics unit to be delivered to the dealership prior to telematics installation – please read the telematics process on our dealer detailed processes page for more information and contact details.
    • Raise the sales order and tax invoice paperwork and provide a copy to the SCC team – please read the Grant Payment, Vehicle Handover and Delivery confirmation process on our dealer detailed processes page for more detailed information
    • The grant will be paid to the dealership, on behalf of the applicant, not less than 72 hours before the sale is completed and the van collected.
    • If for any reason the sale was not completed the dealer would inform SCC and repay the grant to SCC.
  4. Reporting change of details or fraud

For the avoidance of doubt, the information in these pages does not supersede the Dealership Terms & Conditions you have entered into with SCC.

Check out dealer detailed processes

Any further questions?

If you have any questions about the scheme or the application process after reading the information on the website, please contact etcidealership@surreycc.gov.uk

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