MG Motor UK and Renault are both offering a temporary £500 discount on their electric vehicles (EV), following the reduction of the plug-in car grant (PCIG) in the Chancellor's 2020 Budget.

The grant, which stood at £3,500, was reduced to £3,000 on March 11 as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first budget but both brands have pledged to ‘top-up’ the grant with an additional £500 discount until the end of the month.

The MG ZS EV is available from £22,495 until March 31, when coupled with the grant and MG’s additional discount.

Renault is also topping up the grant alongside its existing £1,000 retail offer, meaning customers can pick up a new Zoe for £24,670.

Daniel Gregorious, head of sales and marketing at MG, said: “We’re delighted to be able to top-up the grant back to £3,500 for the remainder of March.

"Since the launch of ZS EV in summer last year, our dealerships have been inundated by customers eager to get their hands on the first truly affordable, family-friendly electric car. With this top-up, we’ve maintained the exceptional value-for-money proposition that people expect from MG”.

Vincent Tourette, managing director of Renault, said: “We welcome the longer term stability of yesterday’s announcement and, in line with Renault’s vision of Sustainable Mobility For All, support the move to restrict the grant eligibility to more affordable vehicles that are most likely to have the largest effect on reducing overall environmental impact.”

In announcing the cuts, Sunak confirmed the extension of the plug-in car grant until 2022/23, funded by an additional £403 million.

A further £129.5m will be provided to fund the plug-in grants for electric vans, taxis and motorcycles.

Electric cars costing £50,000 or more are now excluded from the grant.

The Government says that it will allow more drivers to benefit from making the switch for longer - it effectively gives provision for another 134,000 cars - and it will continue to keep the rate of the grant under review.

Plug-in grants for electric vans (up to £8,000), large vans and trucks (up to £20,000), taxis (up to £7,500) and motorbikes (up to £1,500), remain at the same level.