Grants for new electric cars have been slashed by 40 percent to “enable taxpayers’ money to go further” the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. The maximum amount of cash motorists can claim towards the cost of a plug-in car has been cut from £2,500 ($3,300) to £1,500 ($1,980). For cars to be eligible for the grant they must now cost less than £32,000. This is down from £35,000. The changes sparked an angry response from the automotive industry, but the DfT said they will allow “the scheme’s funding to go further and to help more people make the switch to an EV (electric vehicle).” It added that the government’s investment in the transition to EVs “remains unchanged.” The purchase of more than half a million low-emission vehicles has been supported by the plug-in grant scheme over the last decade. Sales of zero-emission new cars are up 89 percent this …