Band 1 vehicles are British built. The new Leaf will qualify once it’s released but we are importing the rest. I don’t think a couple of grand per car would persuade anyone to set up a plant in England just to qualify.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a loophole in which one qualifying car for any band qualifies all versions with the same battery and drive. So the Ariya qualifies at band 2 because the base model is under the price and then all single motor with the same battery size then also qualifies. Thus the model shown on Motability as the ‘Shiro is an 83kWh battery single motor under £40k. That then means all up to and including the Evolve long range qualify for the grant. I’d expect to see a few more working that out and releasing long range versions (where they have multiple battery sizes) with base spec but huge delivery times.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.
Mark