£38m depot charging window misses its opening date

The second funding round of the government's Depot Charging Scheme was due to open on Wednesday 28 October, with £38m to part-fund chargers at fleet depots. It did not open. Six days later, the Find a Grant listing still shows a closing date of 27 October 2026, the day before the round was supposed to begin, and the Department for Transport will say only that an update is coming in due course.

What the £38m was for

The Depot Charging Scheme pays part of the cost of charge points and civil works at depots used by battery-electric vans, HGVs and coaches. It does not pay for the vehicles themselves. The programme was launched on 25 March 2026 with £170m running from April 2026 to 2030, and £66m is being offered across two application rounds this year: £28m for spending in 2026/27 and £38m for 2027/28. A further £104m is reserved for later rounds.

Round one opened on 25 March and closed on 30 June. It covered 70% of charge point and civil costs, up to £1m across all sites, with no limit on the number of sites and one application per organisation. Bids were assessed first come, first served, so the timing of an application mattered as much as its contents.

Round two was expected to run from 28 October 2026 to 29 January 2027, for projects starting in April 2027 and finishing by 31 March 2028. Grant rates for this phase have not been confirmed.

A listing that closes before it opens

On 3 November the Find a Grant page still carried an opening date of 25 March 2026 and a closing date of 27 October 2026. Its body text says the next window is expected to open from 28 October 2026 to 29 January 2027, and that terms and grant rates for this phase are still to be confirmed. The dates block appears not to have been updated for the second round, and the closing date it gives falls a day before that round was due to start.

Fleet News reported on 2 November that the link to the application page returned "page not found". Asked when applications would reopen, a Department for Transport spokesperson said an update would be shared "in due course" (Fleet News). That gives neither a reason for the delay nor a date to plan around.

Why the date carries weight

For a scheme assessed first come, first served, the opening date is the moment operators are meant to be ready. FleetPoint reported that fleets had prepared bids for the first day and now face an open-ended wait (FleetPoint).

The deadline at the other end has not moved. Projects funded in this round must start from April 2027 and be delivered by 31 March 2028. If the 29 January 2027 closing date stands, every day without an opening shortens the application period while the completion date stays where it was.

The grant rate is still a working assumption

Round one paid 70% of charge point and civil costs up to £1m. The government has said the rate will fall over the life of the programme as infrastructure becomes cheaper, and the rate for round two has not been confirmed. AMP EV, a charging installer, tells fleets to plan on 70% and a £1m cap, which FleetPoint describes as a working assumption rather than a promise.

The grant does not cover grid upgrades or the vehicles. Costs incurred before a grant funding agreement is signed are not eligible, so an early order carries a risk while the terms are unknown.

The barrier the money is meant to remove

SMMT figures for September put electric van registrations at a record 4,832, up 13.4% on the year, for a 9.6% share of the month and 10.8% across the first nine months. The 2026 target under the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is 24% (SMMT).

SMMT named higher purchase costs and depot upgrades as the main barriers, and its chief executive, Mike Hawes, said demand "remains less than half the mandated level due to higher purchase costs, grid delays and a shortage of van-suitable charging". The delayed round is the £38m set aside for depot charge points.

Grid connections are the longer job. AMP EV says "the grid is the hardest part of going electric", and upgrade lead times can run beyond any grant window. That work does not depend on the scheme being open, so a fleet that expects to bid can start it now.

Where the rest of the money sits

The £170m for depot charging is part of a £1bn package announced in March. The same announcement confirmed up to £81,000 off the heaviest zero-emission trucks, covering up to 40% of the cost, and up to £5,000 off electric vans (GOV.UK).

The Budget on 28 October added £100m over two years from spring 2027 to cut prices at lower-powered public chargers near homes (our Budget coverage). That money is new. The £38m for depots was already committed, and what is missing is the window through which fleets can claim it.

Used electric vans are moving the other way

Used electric vans are not waiting for the grant schedule. Solera cap hpi had used electric small van values up 3.1% in October against a 2.2% fall for diesel, while the wider used van market had its sharpest monthly cut of 2026 (our report). Stronger residuals help the leasing arithmetic on a new electric van. The depot scheme works on the infrastructure side of the same decision, by reducing what a depot pays to install chargers before it can take one.

What happens next

The DfT has published no reason for the delay and no new date. The Find a Grant page remains the place where the window will appear, and it still says terms and grant rates are to be confirmed. Operators can check it, apply for a grid connection, survey sites and collect quotes in the meantime. FleetPoint's advice is to hold off on orders until a grant funding agreement is signed, because costs incurred earlier are not eligible.

Two dates remain on the published timetable: 29 January 2027 for applications and 31 March 2028 for completed works. Neither has changed. The date that was supposed to start the round passed six days ago without an explanation.