In her Autumn Budget, then Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a new Pay-Per Mile car tax for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) from April 2028.
Electric vehicle drivers will face a road charge of 3p per mile (on average £219/year) and plug-in hybrid drivers will pay 1.5 per mile (on average £109/year) with the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association estimating that in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, this would amount to an additional tax burden of £588,880/a year by 2028. Further information on the Government's plans can be found here.
Let’s go back to 2023 when the Mayor of London expanded ULEZ into outer London – without a mandate. This, we were very clearly told, had the specific aim of reducing pollution and cleaning London’s air by placing a tax on older vehicles that did not meet emission standards. Residents were encouraged to switch to compliant vehicles, with a particular emphasis on the financial incentives of going electric.
I know that many residents decided to invest in electric or plug-in hybrids, on the understanding that a ‘cleaner’ vehicle would be exempt from additional costs. However, this tax on EVs and plug-in hybrids is not only deeply unfair on those who made the switch in good faith, it also debunks the idea that cleaner air was the driver of the ULEZ policy, exposing it as the shameless, money-grabbing exercise we always suspected it to be.
Ahead of Parliament returning in September to a new government, I invite residents to take part in a short survey on the impacts of the scheme in the hope that it will be reviewed.
To complete the survey, please click here.
