06 Nov 2026
New research provides a comprehensive picture of what dealers want from a government electric car scrappage scheme.
November’s Startline Used Car Tracker shows 28% believe a scrappage scheme should target new cars, 27% used cars, and 45% both. Also, 28% want it applied to petrol and diesel cars over five years old, 45% over 10 years and 27% over 15 years.
More than half (53%) say it should be added to existing government EV subsidies and 47% replace them, while 8% say that any scrappage allowance needs to be at least £2,000, 28% at least £3,000, 35% at least £4,000 and 20% at least £5,000.
Finally, 15% think the scrappage scheme should run for three months, 40% for six months and 45% for 12 months.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Research we reported last month showed dealers overwhelmingly back the introduction of a government scrappage scheme promoting electric cars, so we decided to find out more about what they want.
“We’ve found quite a wide spread of opinions but, if you pick the most popular options for each response, you have a scheme subsidising both new and used electric models, with the cars submitted for scrappage over 10 years old, and an allowance of up to £4,000 available for 12 months.
“Whether the government can be persuaded to embrace an initiative with these kinds of parameters is open to question – it would be expensive at a time when budgets are tight. However, the research does hopefully provide useful pointers about how dealers believe official policy could encourage more people to go into EVs.”
The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 301 consumers and 60 dealers were questioned.