By that stage, if the proposed ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars holds firm, EVs and some hybrids will be the only cars you’ll be able to buy in the UK. But we don’t yet know exactly which hybrids will be allowed or what the impact on buyer behavior will be as the ban draws ever closer. Plug-in hybrids may even be affected more severely by the pay-per-mile tax than EVs. They were already expensive to run without regular charging and the 1.5p per mile charge on top of normal VED will make them more so.
In the shorter term, raising the threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement on VED tax to £50,000 will make many ordinary EVs costing a little over £40,000 usefully more affordable to run. This should be a positive move for EV uptake, and we’re told that the pay-per-mile tax on EVs will also generate more funds for the never-ending quest to rid our roads of potholes. Another mark in the ‘plus column’.
There’s extra support for the rollout of electric car charging infrastructure, but nothing was announced to address the bigger issue of charging costs. A VAT cut from the 20 per cent rate charged on public charging to match the five per cent paid on domestic electricity would have made EVs more attractive for those who can’t charge at home. As it is, these drivers – who are often in towns and cities, where EV air quality benefits would be felt most – will be stuck paying fuel prices that are scarcely any cheaper than what you’d shell out to run a petrol car.
The pay-per-mile tax, of course, will only make it harder for those forced to rely on public chargers to choose an EV. Compare a typical VW Golf with an ID.3 EV and the petrol Golf costs around 12p per mile to fuel, while the ID.3, charged at home on the 26p per kWh Ofgem price cap, costs 6p. If you’re charging the ID.3 at an average 53p slow public charger, it’s 12p per mile and the 3p per mile eVED tax will make it more expensive to fuel than the Golf. The average price of rapid charging is 76p per kWh!
Just when car buyers could have used a positive and clear Government message to make the case for EVs, the Chancellor has presented them with more sums to do, and doubts over the future to mull over. Such is life.
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