Audi, Mercedes, BMW drivers 'will be subject to £5,490 car tax fee'

Drivers buying new Audi, BMW or Mercedes cars face a £5,490 tax bill in a major DVLA change. Motorists have been warned over a Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) band shake-up with some models subject to a £5,490 fee from next April.

Under the new Labour Party government, the vehicles that will be worst affected by the increase will be those that produce more than 255g/km of carbon dioxide, with the VED rate rising to a staggering £5,490 from the current rate of £2,745.

Among the cars impacted are Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10, Audi RS6 4.0 TFSI V8, Audi RS7 4.0 TFSI V8, Audi RSQ8 4.0 TFSI V8, Audi S8 4.0 TFSI V8 and Audi SQ7 4.0 TFSI V8 as well as Audi SQ8 4.0 TFSI V8, BMW Alpina XB7 4.4 V8, BMW M8 4.4 V8, BMW X5 M 4.4 V8, BMW X6 M 4.4 V8 and BMW X7 M 4.4 V8 are also listed.

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Other cars facing the top rate include Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 4.0 V8, Mercedes-Benz G400D, Mercedes-Benz G63, Mercedes-Benz GLC63, Mercedes-Benz GLE63, Mercedes-Benz GLS63h and Mercedes-Benz SL55. In her Autumn Statement, Rachel Reeves explained: "I will maintain the incentives for electric vehicles in company car tax from 2028 and increase the differential between fully electric and other vehicles in the first year rates of Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2025."

The Chancellor said: "These measures will raise around £400 million by the end of the forecast period." The Labour Government also made a couple of announcements surrounding the benefits in kind (BiK) rates for several vehicles.

And the Government also confirmed that double cab pickup trucks will no longer be classed as commercial vehicles, instead being regarded as passenger cars. The announcement came two weeks ago as part of the Autumn Budget and Statement from Labour MPs.