Older drivers born between these years could be most affected by new car tax changes coming into effect in days. New analysis from Go.Compare car insurance has found baby boomers will feel the biggest sting of new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) updates.
Petrol, diesel and electric car owners will feel the impact of the widespread VED changes when they are introduced from April 1, 2025. If buying habits remain the same, analysis shows baby boomers will be taxed more than £40million more when the changes are introduced. This is because just 6% of baby boomers drive either a battery-electric or hybrid electric car.
It means most will be behind the wheel of older, often dirtier, petrol and diesel vehicles which will be among the highest taxed.
Go.Compare said: “Baby boomers will be the most impacted of any generation for the same reason. In total, it’s estimated that baby boomers will be taxed an extra £40.5 million as a result of the changes.
“Just 6% of baby boomers drive either a battery electric or hybrid electric car, Go.Compare’s survey found, compared to 11% of millennials and 9% of Gen X.”
Baby boomers tend to fall into the category of individuals born just after the end of the Second World War.
To calculate the figures, Go.Compare reviewed Department for Transport figures on the number of new private vehicles registered in the first half of the 2024 tax year.
Go.Compare then applied the old and new first-year rates for VED to these vehicles to estimate how much more car buyers could pay.
Tom Banks, car insurance expert at Go.Compare, commented: “Unfortunately, some groups will be worse impacted by the rising VED rates than others, which is mainly down to the type of cars they tend to buy.”
