Motorists offered incentives to buy electric cars after launch of £20m fund to axe petrol vehicles

The funding, which has been in place since 2011, was recently renewed and comes on top of roughly £65million put into strengthening the public charging infrastructure.

This year’s funding will be available for the Used EV Loan, Switched on Taxi Loan and Used Electric Low Carbon Vehicle Loan for Vans.

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The scheme will allow individuals or businesses to obtain a loan of up to £20,000, interest-free, over five years, offering a cheaper solution to drivers wanting a greener vehicle.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: "I’m pleased to announce the allocation of £20million to support our electric vehicle support schemes.

"During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, this will help people access the benefits of modern electric vehicles at a greater range of price points. This means that more people can take climate action as part of our transition to a net zero transport system.

"These loans are in addition to what Scotland is already investing through our core Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. These streams of investment work in tandem to make electric cars and vans the natural choice for drivers by 2030."

She explained that Scotland is one of the only places offering financial support in the form of interest-free loans for consumers to purchase electric vehicles.

Since the schemes began in 2011, the Scottish Government has provided interest-free loans worth £230million, which have helped over 8,700 drivers purchase electric cars.

Hyslop added: "We've met our target of 6000 charge points two years earlier than planned through a combination of Scottish Government funding, increasing private sector investment and local authority planning and leadership.

"Scotland has more public EV charge points per capita than anywhere else in the UK, outside of London, and we have more rapid public EV charge points than any other part of the UK."

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On top of the existing support measures, the Government also revealed it plans to add roughly 24,000 additional public EV charge points by 2030.

Heather Quin, Senior Programme Manager at Energy Saving Trust, shared: "In addition to supporting individuals and businesses purchasing electric vehicles, we’re pleased to also be offering further support to microbusinesses and sole traders to purchase electric vans.

"These loans are a practical and inclusive way to help more people switch to electric vehicles, lowering Scotland’s carbon emissions and improving local air quality."

Across the UK, Scotland had the second-most rapid or ultra-rapid electric car chargers with 1,885 in place as of April 2025, just behind the South East of England.

According to Zapmap data, the number of public charge points in the UK has grown from 28,460 at the end of 2021 to 53,865 at the end of 2023, with more than 73,000 recorded at the end of 2024.

This year alone, 5,955 charge points have been added to the charging network across the UK, with 2,730 8kW chargers added since the beginning of the year.

Fastned recently opened a new charging station in the west of Glasgow, offering drivers there better access to facilities.

Tom Hurst, UK Country Director, Fastned shared: "We’re delighted to open our fifth charging hub in Scotland, and provide much-needed charging in an area with a low number of ultra-rapid chargers. Watch this space as there’s much more to come!"