Recent developments in government policy are raising concerns that could stall the momentum of the transition to electric vehicles, writes Fraser Brown of automotive consultancy MotorVise.
Drivers of electric cars should be braced for higher ownership costs as several key incentives that have fuelled the rise in EV ownership are slated to expire next year.
Auto Trader has called for incentives and tax breaks to make electric vehicles (EV) more affordable and put the UK Government’s plan to ban pure petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 “back on track”.
More than half of car buyers are reconsidering the purchase of a zero-emissions electric vehicle (EV) after the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced plans to make them eligible for VED road tax.
A record increase in fuel duty could be set to temper fleet operators’ initially positive response to news that benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax for electric vehicles (EVs) will continue to be kept low to increase uptake.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt revealed that electric vehicles (EV) will not be exempt from road tax from 2025 in an Autumn statement which claimed to prioritise “stability, growth and the protection of public services”.
A new pay-as-you-drive road pricing system could soon be introduced to replace traditional vehicle excise duty (VED) and tax on petrol and diesel.
Nearly a third (29%) of electric vehicle (EV) buyers said they would be happy to pay vehicle excise duty (VED) on their next purchase, research has found.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has told MPs on the Government’s Transport Select Committee that the rise of electric vehicles (EV) has presented a “clear need” for road pricing.
Government is expected to announce a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 this week as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak also considers roads pricing regime.
Automotive retail sector analysts suggested that the limited eligibility of many business benefits announced in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget 2020 could limit the advantages for the automotive retail sector.
With many automotive retail businesses entering 2018 with some nervousness and caution, the market has remained remarkably buoyant for the first four months of the year.
The UK was once again able to contribute to new car registrations growth in the European market as the region saw volumes rise by 9% overall.
Jato Dynamics has concluded that changes to vehicle emissions test standards across Europe are set to “result in higher purchase and ownership” costs for motorists.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer vowed to champion “the great British white van driver” with a review of VED rates and brought forward the business rates review in his Spring Statement 2018. In a speech in the Commons which laid out GDP growth and reducing debt levels predicted by the latest OBR reports, the Philip Hammond said that he aimed to “champion business” with the measures. Addressing the house, he said that a review of business rates would now take place in 2021 in a move that would also usher-in “triennial reviews from then on”. He said this came on top of a review of business rates, which resulted from the Autumn Budget, which he claimed would reduce rates for small business by over £10 billion. An £80 million fund was also announced to help small businesses in their recruitment of apprentices in light of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy last year. Mr Hammond said that the move had come in recognition of the “changes the system represents”. In a move that the chancellor would “help the great British white van driver”, the Chancellor said that a review of VED road tax would look to bring in a reduction in expense for the greenest commercial vehicles. The OBR’s latest predictions for economic growth in the UK were revised up from 1.4% to 1.5% for 2018, with 1.3% growth in 2019 and 2020 before a rise to 1.4% in 2021 and 1.5% in 2022. Paul Johnson, at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, moved quickly to dispel any suggestion that the revised forecast was worthy of celebration, however. In a Tweet posted during the Chancellor’s speech, he said: “Against a long term trend of at least 2% a year growth, after poor growth since 2008, and compared with growth across rest of OECD, these are not encouraging forecasts.”
Diesel car buyers could be put off a new purchase after new tax measures announced in Philip Hammond's 2017 Autumn Budget added upto £300 to the first year VED rate.
Diesel vehicles' fate is sealed according to car retailers speaking ahead of a government budget which is likely to a strict new tax regime for vehicles powered by the fuel.
Well over half a million new cars were registered in March 2017, setting a new record, as dealers delivered new vehicles ahead of the punitive new VED regime
Some models will command almost 25 times more tax than before under the new VED road tax rules introduced on April 1, according to What Car? magazine.
It’s a huge market – almost 40% (12 million) of the more than 30 million cars in the UK are diesels. But could we now be seeing the end of the road for this fuel type?
