Paul said: “The increases for electric cars that took effect from April have added quite heavily to their running costs and created a disincentive, while the introduction of VED for electric vans has been counterproductive in a market that is struggling to find its feet.”
Electric car owners pay the standard VED rate of £195 per annum from the second year the vehicle is on the roads. Brand new owners pay a discounted rate of just £10 in year one, much cheaper than petrol and diesel alternatives.
However, the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) is a worry for many electric car owners due to the upfront cost of many top models. The ECS fee is an additional £425 per annum rate for models with a list price of over £40,000 between the second and sixth years of ownership.
Added together, electric car owners could well be paying a whopping £620 per year to get behind the wheel compared to £0 just 12 months ago. AutoTrader has also warned that rising tax charges could put off consumers from making the leap of faith to ditch their petrol and diesel models for EVs.
AutoTrader’s Ian Plummer previously said: “We urgently need to rethink the expensive car supplement and Vehicle Excise Duty tax changes and to focus on public information campaigns to enable consumers to feel good about making the switch.
“With one in three new cars sold in the UK now having a plug, we know there’s consumer appetite for the new technologies now on offer.”
