Guidance

Plug-in motorcycle grant: meeting the warranty criterion

Updated 6 April 2024

To be considered eligible for a grant under the plug-in motorcycle grant scheme, applicants are required to offer a warranty to consumers. This must conform with the requirements of Directive 1999/44/EC.

The warranty must be transferable to the consumer’s successors in title to the vehicle for the balance of the warranty period.

The Department for Transport (DfT) does not intend to dictate the precise terms of the warranty to be provided by applicants to consumers.

The full extent of the warranty will be largely determined by market forces and it will form a key differential selling point for vehicles of this type.

DfT reserves the right to disqualify an application should it believe the warranty being offered by the applicant as failing to meet the minimum criteria required by DfT.

In addition, the applicant must be able to satisfy DfT that it is able to fulfil the terms of the warranty being offered by it.

Vehicle warranty requirements

To qualify for a grant under the plug-in motorcycle grant scheme, the applicant must, as a minimum, provide a warranty of at least 2 years with unlimited mileage, from the date of transfer of ownership to the consumer, regarding the vehicle excluding the battery or fuel cell.

For avoidance of doubt, the warranty should cover all equipment supplied with the vehicle, including the charge cable.

External equipment installed in the customers’ property, for example, charging units, does not need to be covered by the vehicle warranty.

Energy storage and drive train warranty

In addition to the vehicle warranty, the energy storage and drive train^{[footnote 1]} must be covered by:

• a warranty of at least 3 years or 30,000km (whichever comes sooner) from the date of transfer of ownership to the consumer
• in addition, if the warranty is less than 5 years, the applicant must offer to the consumer the option of extending the warranty by a further 2 years. The applicant may choose to attach an additional cost to this warranty extension. For avoidance of doubt, this additional cost will be exclusive to the calculation of the grant payment
• where the battery or fuel cell and broader electric drive train is leased to the customer, the leasing agreement must offer a level of support to the customer that is at least equivalent to the above-mentioned warranty
• for vehicles designed to use detachable batteries (easily removable by the consumer without the use of tools), the warranty shall only apply to the batteries first supplied with the vehicle

The applicant must guarantee to the consumer that the battery or fuel cell will retain a reasonable degree of performance for the period of the warranty.

In the event of a fault or deficiency in performance found in the battery or fuel cell, the applicant must repair or replace defective parts free of charge. Free of charge, in this context, refers to the necessary costs incurred including postage, labour and materials.

The applicant may, limit its liability under the warranty or thereafter for any fault or deficiency in performance if this arises from normal wear and tear or the following actions from the consumer or representative:

• negligence
• improper use
• faulty storage
• insufficient care
• modification of the vehicle

Glossary

Applicants: manufacturers, their agents, or importers of vehicles that benefit from the grant

Consumers: purchasers of vehicles and their successors in title.

Directive 1999/44/EC: this directive of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 May 1999 concerns certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees.

1. drive train refers to the parts that send power from the engine to the wheels. These include the clutch, transmission (gearbox), drive shafts, U-joints and differential. ↩