Electric cars.

The only sector that is driving the sales of BEV's is the fleet and business sector, which is being subsidized by tax payers. In the first 6 months of 2025 nearly 75% of new registrations of BEV's was down to the fleet/business sector, making the sales by the private sector very poor.

It's all about fixing the numbers to suit the agenda, with out the fleet sector, non of the car manufacturers would be anywhere near the quota of electric cars that need to be sold annually. The fleet sector now accounts for 61% of all new car registrations, it was only 3/4 years that new registrations by the private sector was the largest sector.

 

@NigelJ I'm simply going to wait to what scheme the Government comes up with. Given the history of Governments of all flavours in failing to implement IT systems on time, it will be interesting to see.

 

Makes you wonder if it's just a pilot programme for the future, it can very easily be 10 or 15p per mile at some point for everyone.

 

This 3p per mile for electric cars looks like the start of charging all motorists per mile. I don't have an electric car so I have no idea about charging the battery, but maybe they could see your mileage when you recharge the battery. And charge extra for each mile on the clock. This 3p will cost these car owners a lot of money.

 

Motorists with ICE cars already pay 58p per litre in tax so at 3p per mile for EV drivers they're still getting off lightly

 

Compared to duty on fuel, then 9p plus per mile would be more inline with ICE cars. However that probably would put the brakes on the uptake of BEV's if they introduced that now.

I reckon the UK will be watching how the Dutch intend to implement pay per mile. From 2030, the Dutch are going to introduce pay per kilometre, but are abolishing VED altogether.

From 2030, you will pay for every kilometre driven | Privacy First

 

That's another thing I don't understand if charging the same taxes for a BEV as a ICE will slow down sales then it's showing people don't want them

 

Would it not be simpler to increase the Road Tax for every vehicle on the road ? Just one tax grab pa with the amount charged dependant on size of vehicle and whether domestic/commuting or business usage. Certainly cheaper to collect I'd have thought.
I'm pretty sure that the Road Tax ( at least for a small petrol driven car ) was drastically reduced some 20 years ago from £100 plus down to £30. Given the increase in vehicles using the roads since then and the cost of fixing ever deteriorating roads, it would seem sensible IMO.

 

Could someone clarify something for me please ? As I understand it my car is a hybrid, it uses petrol and it recharges the battery as I drive along (I think)
I've heard that hybrid cars will be taxed per mile, but then I read something about plug-in hybrids.
I don't think mine is a plug-in because I don't plug it in to anything, it just goes on the petrol I put in it.
Can someone tell me if my car will be taxed so much a mile or not, because I can't understand it ?

 

The charge per mile will only apply to cars that need a charge from an electric source, as yours is a hybrid, you will not be charged per mile.

 

Sounds right, @Michael Hewett will be paying his contribution via the fuel duty.

 

Probably, but the way the government is going about it (force) will be a factor in people not taking up electric cars.

As of the end of October new BEV registrations in the UK accounted for 22.1% of the market share, the mandate for 2025 was for 28% of all new car registrations to be fully electric. However, compared to the EU, which currently stands at BEV's having a 16.4% market share, then the UK is leading from the front. But if the UK new car market wasn't driven by the fleet sector and the tax breaks that come with it when hiring or purchasing a new BEV, then I am sure we would be much lower than the EU for market share based on private sales.

As of the end of October, the second market for BEV's in the UK stands at 4% of the market share. So, even with the huge depreciation on electric cars, it has not created a rush of consumers to go out and purchase a second hand BEV.

 

@gks @Escarpment Thank you both