With a starting price of £16,990, this means the ZE is available from £13,592, plus a battery lease of £60 per month.

Andy Heiron, Renault UK’s head of electric vehicles, predicted the move would lead to a “surge in demand”.

Under the scheme van buyers will get a reduction of 20%, up to the value of £8000, on the cost of a qualifying plug-in van.

Transport minister Norman Baker claimed the grant would allow operators to purchase ultra-low carbon vans, for which the price would otherwise have been prohibitive.

He said: “Electric vehicles are the arrow head for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market we’ll begin to see sales gather pace.”

The Government has also extended the year-old grant for electric cars but Baker said: “Now it’s time for van buyers to get their chance to go electric. This is great news for businesses given the lower running costs of these vehicles – fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factors influencing their decisions on what to buy.”

He said the case for introducing an incentive for buyers to choose electric vans was strengthened by the fact that they often operate on fixed duty cycles, regularly returning to base where they can recharge.

“The technology fits well with a large portion of the van market that relies on short urban trips to and from base,” Baker said.

On 17 January the Government began inviting manufacturers to apply for their vans to join the scheme. To be among the first batch of qualifying vans applications should be in by 31 January.

To be eligible for the grant vans must emit less than 75g/km C02, be capable of at least 60 miles between charges (10 miles in electric mode for hybrids), have a top speed of at least 50mph for safety purposes and meet European Type Approval standards.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders claimed the Plug-in Van Grant would boost the UK’s environment and economy. Boss Paul Everitt said: “We will reap significant industrial and environmental benefits from establishing an early and flourishing ultra-low carbon vehicle market, attracting high value investment in R&D, innovation and automotive manufacturing.”