Tash1977

That is rumour. There is no decision made yet. If u go on the link of the transport authority I send in previous messege will give up updated information on the grand for June 13 2015. That is the information provided by the low emission athourity.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-minister-andrew-jones-welcomes-huge-rise-in-take-up-of-ultra-low-emissions-vehicles
The minister for transport welcomes this huge rise. Obviously the grant is not forever and will finish one day but the purpose of the grant is to encourage people to buy electric vehicles. The purpose is not yet achieved. Once it is achieve they might extend or stop with a notice. Before that all are rumours from irritable sources. Forums are not a accurate source of information. Need to follow transport authority and low emission athourity not some guy on the forum

shmern

This is the section referred to that changed from April with 3 Categories

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...rom-april-2015

This is the bit that pushes the 18inch wheeled C350e out of the £5k grant and I believe is the basis of the Rumour here


I have also emailed olev.enquiries@olev.gsi.gov.uk (The Office of Low Emission Vehicles) to request further information regarding the statement in the article above which says:

"In May 2015 we will commence a review of plug in grant levels. Following this review, new levels of grant will be available per category. We will communicate the changes as soon as they are agreed."

As this seems to indicate different levels of Grant based on the category the car falls within. But no details on this are currently available.

D.

wivenhoe

Tash if you had read all the document you will have seen in Section 5 that since April new criteria has applied

Category 1: CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles
Category 2: CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km and a zero emission range between 10 and 69 miles
Category 3: CO2 emissions of 50-75g/km and a zero emission range of at least 20 miles
The diagram below explains the new categories.

As you have ordered one, you should know that the C350e has an official EV range of 19 miles so a car with 18" wheels (52g/km) fails all 3 categories and thus will not qualify for the £ 5k grant

Please do not accuse me of providing misleading information when it is you that are wrong. Suggest you read the whole document at

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...grant-vehicles

shmern

exactly right, one small (maybe) addition to this is the Government are planning different grant levels per category, this was supposed to have been agreed during May and published but this hasn't happened yet.

Doesn't make a difference to the grant for 18inch wheeled 350e cars as they will currently fail anyway, but *may* mean those that do qualify may be eligible for a different amount and I doubt that amount will be more I suspect Cat 2 and Cat 3 may be reduced grants but I await a response from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles

wivenhoe

Thanks shmen. I read an article yesterday saying that the Cat 3 was under serious consideration as the S500 & the Porsche would qualify and this is not what was meant !

Tash1977

I do apologise if I sounded that I'm accusing you. My point is that these change are not been made. If you see the current criteria it still remains the same. My dealer has already applied for the grant for my vehicle. Filled in transport authority survey form last month n send according to dealer request. My question is why are the dealers applying for grants still if these changes have come in force. The dealers should at least know that they not available with the 18inch wheels. For me my lease deal remains the same if grant or no grant. But the lease company will lose out that way. I believe they can't offer the deal they given me on this car with out calculating the grant. Like I said they are expecting a grant so they are following the criteria on the main page and not the future guidelines yet.

famousgrouse

You are right and wrong.
You are correct that 18" wheeled C350e Estate is category three.
You are wrong where you say "will not qualify for the grant".

Quoted from section 5 of the very page you linked to (which I suggest you read again): "The cap will remain at £5,000 for all cars, regardless of which category they are in, until further notice."

We're in the stage now, where it's under review. Any orders already placed and locked in, and will be delivered within 9 months of order, should be OK.

MB are going to stop taking orders with grant money at all, for any new orders placed from the 24th June.

The truth is- no one knows, yet, what grant money there will be for >50g CO2 Pi-Hybrids once the review at OLEV has taken place! It doesn't take a genius to assume the fact they've separated them into three categories, would make the likelihood of different levels of grant HIGHLY likely however.

Tash1977

Thank you very much. That was exactly the point I was trying to make. I m sure the grant is available for the 18inch wheel otherwise how will dealer take a order and apply for the grant and where will the lease company get their money to cover the deals they have offered. U are right that things are under review but order sent are not affected infact they are still taking future orders. Thanks for clearifing my point. At the moment the grant is not my stress it's the dilevery I'm concerned bout. Now it's early November. Please any updates on a delivery dates.

shmern

I'm not so sure as c350e with 18s are over 50g/km But only 19miles zero emission and therefore do not fall into category 3 , I read the article that the 3 categories are in place now it's the levels if grant for those 3 categories that is under review. IF that is the case and I'm still awaiting a response from OLEV to confirm, then only the 17inch c350e is eligible. Happy to be wrong however !

The other thing that may be meaning MB not taking orders is the rumor of the 9g transmission coming to the S/W205 platform for MY17, that is likely to lower the g/km and mpg higher as well.. Meaning a possibility of a change of category for some.

D.

famousgrouse

I must eat some humble pie- and admit you're absolutely right there. As it stands the C350e on 18" alloys wouldn't fit any of those categories!
Time will tell whether that has any implications for existing orders I suppose, it's a mindfield to decipher as there's not a lot of information, and no one seems to know for 100% that I've spoken to.

Looking at the eligible list of cars, there's more than the C350e with higher emissions than 50g/km, with range lower than 20 miles. My feeling is for the moment, until anything is confirmed- any car on that list is eligible until the money runs out and the new scheme comes in. Just a feeling though... Hopefully you'll get a response from OLEV, though knowing these organisations- they probably don't know either...!

Tash1977

Thanks guys. I got another confirmation from Mercedes my order is processed in April and waiting for delivery on 5th November. Spoke to dealer and said they have already applied grants and they have no problem with it. My order has been placed with 18inch wheel n that what I will get. They even send me a copy of approved order list of specifications I requested such as brown ash word trim privacy glass and premium plus specification standard. i don't know understand what fuss cause mine on the way. I m not sure bout new orders but best of luck with the grant thing

shmern

Great news Tash ....im still waiting to hear from lease company

wivenhoe

I think it is a complete joke that I will have my car delivered on 17" wheels and qualify and then have 18" or 19" wheels put on and other than notifying my insurance company it will have no effect on the Grant nor BIK. My dealer has confirmed that it is what is on the V5 that counts and they use that criteria to claim the Grant.

On another forum the consensus of opinion is that the Cat 3 has been set to differentiate cars like the S500 and Porsche from other Plug In's and then reduce the grant to 0 ! Between Mercedes and the Government they couldn't organise a drink in a brewery

famousgrouse

It's a bit of a mess, for sure.

Interestingly, Mercedes have always assumed the grant applies. And still do. Check the brochure, the c350e estate with Premium or premium plus still shows the grant money, even though they've included 18" alloys.

Honestly I think old orders shouldn't have a problem, but we'll see...

I'd hate for my order to go t1ts up as a result of the wheels. I would have been happy with 17" wheels honestly, just didn't want a "basic" car, the features of premium plus are all things I want. That the wheels needed changing has hurt my tax bill enough as it is, were the price to jump £5k as well then it's not going to happen...

Tash1977

Guys I want to ask have you ordered or try to order c350e with 18 inch yet. The reason I m asking is I have ordered and there is no issue with grant. It is the dealer responsibility to sort the grant not the consumer. In transport athority website grant applying procedure is stated. Consumer does not apply for a grant. Dealer apply and deduct the price n sell to lease companies. Likei said My order got confirmation from dealer got a rate on lease which is obviously with grant otherwise not possible such rate. Don't rely on news if u really want one order and see what the dealer says. I did not have any such problem. Every thing went smooth. Dealer requested me to fill grant survey form n return. Every thing was really easy. I got the confirmation of order and build date and dilevery date by the Mercedes not lease company alone . Like I said now waiting for my c350e sports saloon premium plus with 18inch wheels ash brown trim black leather privicy glass tenorite grey metallic. I m happy that did not read these comments before other wise would have got confused n missed out on my 18inch wheels. Best of luck.

Defeatedonce

Hi,

Under current rules there is simply a 75g cap for the £5,000 grant. Provide the manufacturer has had the car approved by OLEV that is basically all there is to it. There are no other conditions. All variants of the C350e qualify. These are the rules until 50,000 grants have been awarded. As has been said the initial 50,000 grants are running out. Thereafter there is £200m minimum to spend over the next few years on car grants. Given the current rate of utilisation following in particular the Mitsubishi PHEV and now the C350e that wouldn't last long at the current £5,000 per car., probably a year at most as the range of good value qualifying cars increases. OLEV has created the three categories, published earlier this year but they currently have absolutely no application. It has not publicly said what is happening next but is actively considering it. It can only be hoped they are publishing soon as uncertainty is not fair on the driver or their company as the pricing differential required will fall on one of them if the grant is not available. In practice orders would be cancelled at the start if the employer / driver were not prepared to pick up the extra costs.

Tash1977

Thanks once again. Vehicles which have been ordered and the grants which have been ordered have no impact of any new rule coming. Grants which have been applied are according to 75g cap. It states on transport athority web site that grands in process have no impact once new rules are finalised after looking at the market. Vehicle grants are being approve as they been ordered. Obviously if any new rule comes lease prices will be set according to if the car qualify or not for the grant. Lease company will then have a different price for vehicles that qualify. Lease companies tell there customers how to save money by opting for option with grant. It is similar case when lease company tell the business that if someone get 18inch wheel the tax saving is not there. Same way if grant is not there whey will tell a price without the grant.

Veegtec

Hi Everyone

First time poster. I got some bad news from my dealer today. Apparently Europe wide they have delayed the production of all c350e. I ordered mine on 8th March and was due to be in production now to pick up in July.

The official party line is that they have so much demand that they cannot cater for it so all production has been postponed. It currently looks like (and was advised not to rely on this) October delivery date for me.

I am not getting the car for company tax purposes so didn't really look into the BIK etc but I wonder reading about the other posts about it not being in that category whether Mercedes could not agree with the UK government. Thus, they have gone back to modifying the car. I know when I ordered the car they had not got official approval for C350e and only towards the end of Mar the grant was confirmed for me.

The guy I am dealing with is fantastic but the explanation is a little feeble imho.

Btw I ordered estate with PP and 18".

Mooose

I ordered last week; black estate with privacy glass, 18's (because we also need a tow bar), 360 degree cameras and finally, silk beige interior. Unfortunately, when I spec'd it on the lease company website, I selected the black seats by mistake. We called them and they advised that they would cancel at their end and we should just reorder.
The price came through £115 per month higher!
When I picked myself up off the floor, we contacted them again. They reinstated the original order at the lower price and changed the order with the dealer. Phew, that was a close one!
Delivery estimated 17th Feb.......

KevSD

I hope they do modify as it makes sense so that they can meet the new grant cat 3. It would only require a very small increase in the battery size to achieve the 20 mile range. Everyone can then get the 18" wheels, towbar or PP if they want to. My order for the estate PP with 18" made in April is still qualifying according to the lease company as of yesterday. Hopefully the delivery doesnt move too much from end October as my current car goes back next month.

Driver5

Will still pay more in BIK though with 18's in the UK.

KevSD

Yes, very true but a small price to pay for the ability to get the prem plus and wheels. Its still much cheaper than my 520d by some £200 per month overall in the first year and the BIK is only going up each year.

Defeatedonce

Mercedes planned battery capacity no doubt to meet published rules. China I think is met by current battery size. The UK announcement by OLEV was after Mercedes had decided on battery size. Depending on the future grant we can always hope Mercedes will tweak battery and work on reducing that co2 at the same time.

shmern

I'm hoping the 9G transmission makes it in MY17, that has reduced g/km in other Mercedes cars....as for batteries... im hoping some clever programming can squeeze out another mile.... or slightly increased battery capacity would be good too.

Reason I'm hoping this.... I get the feeling my order might not arrive until MY17 !

Markcoopers

So my Dealer called today, Robinsons (peterborough, Bury st Edmonds, Kings Lynn and 2 others), they have been given 1 car allocation for a C350e estate for a build slot 31st Dec…..my car. That date will come forward, but it does at least mean that a may ordered car will be in delivered in 2015.

We ordered 3 with them and the other 2 look like 2016 now…….but we remain open minded. Normally in June they are getting Sept/oct build slots allocated so this was a surprise to them, and they are talking about stepping up the production. Specifically the estate and C350e configuration is a slow one apparently….the production line is configured for sedans/Saloons more often it would appear.

The corporate manager also confirmed that they have sold 30+ to date, never yet driven one and only saw 1 into their Kings lynn branch for customer delivery already. She also confirmed that MB Uk have instructed the lease companies to stop including the £5k grant in their quotes as car deliveries will be past the 9 months (from May) they guaranteed from the OFLEV.