The Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) warns that the Autumn Budget delivers major fiscal incentives for electric cars while offering nothing for mopeds, motorcycles or quadricycles – despite their lower emissions, lower energy use, and clear congestion-reduction benefits.
The Budget gives a £1.3bn extension to the Electric Car Grant, a £50,000 Expensive Car Supplement threshold for zero-emission cars and confirmed new car-focused VED arrangements from 2028. No equivalent support has been provided for L-Category vehicles, and the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant (PiMG) remains due to end in April 2026.
The MCIA says the Budget represents a significant divergence in the treatment of different zero-emission modes, and risks locking in a car-centric approach at a time when cities urgently need more efficient mobility options. It called on the government to work with MCIA to implement a comprehensive and bespoke consumer and business incentives package to encourage the uptake of low- and zero-emission mopeds, motorcycles, and wider L-category vehicles. As a minimum, it should extend the PiMG and increase the price threshold to reflect actual electric motorcycle costs.
MCIA chief executive, Tony Campbell, said: “This Budget once again pours billions into the electric car sector while offering nothing for low or zero emission mopeds and motorcycles. It is a car-centric approach that ignores reality: mopeds, motorcycles and light vehicles cut congestion, use far less energy, generate far less carbon in production and have a lower environmental footprint than cars.
“If the government is serious about decarbonising transport, it cannot keep treating our sector as an afterthought. Extending the Electric Car Grant while letting the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant expire makes no sense – environmentally, economically or politically.
“We are calling for immediate parity of treatment. Without basic fiscal support, the UK will fall behind, and consumers will simply be priced out of cleaner, more efficient mobility.”