Motorists with large SUVs could be targeted with new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) car tax fees under new proposals from a leading campaign group.
Transport & Environment (T&E) has called on the Government to introduce a “weight malus” to first-year VED for all fuel types.
This would set “progressively higher taxes” for the heaviest new cars meaning owners of popular SUV models would pay more.
T&E claims that the trend towards ever-increasing car sizes on UK roads is a “major cause for concern” and a safety hazard.
They pointed out the UK could simply follow the lead of other European nations in introducing fees for heavier models.
Their new ‘reforming UK car taxation’ report reads: “In addition to taxing new cars by CO2, the UK Government should explore adding a weight-based element to its acquisition tax.
“One key example of this is in France where, in addition to CO2, their acquisition tax has recently included a weight malus.
“This newly introduced tax adds an additional surcharge on cars over 1,600kg, requiring €10 for every kilogram over this threshold, rising to €15 for cars over 1,800kg, €20 for cars over 1,900kg, €25 for cars over 2,000kg and €30 for cars over 2,200kg.
“A weight malus is an approach to disincentivise the rise of large SUVs, which are more dangerous to other road users (particularly cyclists and pedestrians), more polluting, more resource intensive, cause more damage to roads and take up more road space (including parking spaces).”
SUVs now make up a staggering 59.7 percent of new car registrations in the UK.
This is up from 50.5 percent in 2021 as more owners opt for the comfort and style of the heavier models.
Meanwhile, T&E claims sales of large SUVs have increased by a whopping 50 percent in just two years.
However, T&E claims the UK should go further than some of their European neighbours and apply extra weight fees on battery electric models.
EVs can be a lot heavier than traditional petrol and diesel vehicles as they have complicated battery technology fitted inside.
T&E’s report added: “The UK should go further and ensure that the weight malus also applies to BEVs, with a higher threshold to account for the heavier weight BEVs have due to the battery.
“It should also treat PHEVs equally to other polluting models as a result of their comparable real-world emissions.
“With UK new BEV registrations expected to scale up to 80 percent by 2030, this is a timely moment for the Government to explore new ways of taxing new car purchases.”
