Electric vehicle drivers warned to 'budget' due to huge price hike next year

Electric vehicle owners will have to pay road tax from April 2025
-Credit: (Image: Mario Tama/Getty Images)


Owners of certain vehicles have been warned to prepare for major increases in charges in 2025. Electric vehicle owners will have to pay road tax for the first time from April 2025.

As well as the road tax, there will also be a hike of £410 supplement charge for owners of "expensive" EVs. Owners of electric cars don't have to currently pay this extra charge.

Combined with the £190 tax rate, it will leave owners of the newest and top-of-the-range models paying up to £600, BirminghamLive reports. These motorists have been warned to budget for the changes so they don't come as a shock from April next year.

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Drivers of all EVs will have to pay road tax from next year. For most, this will be a £190 charge. EV drivers with a car with a list price of over £40,000 will also have to pay the £410 'expensive car tax supplement'.

Drivers of some of the most popular models will be affected. They could left paying up to £600, depending on their value.

These were the 10 best-selling electric cars in the UK in 2023:

  1. Tesla Model Y

  2. MG4 EV

  3. Audi Q4 e-tron

  4. Tesla Model 3

  5. Polestar 2

  6. Volkswagen ID.3

  7. Kia Niro Electric

  8. BMW i4

  9. Volkswagen ID.4

  10. SKODA Enyaq iV

Motoring organisation the RAC said: "Electric vehicles (EVs) currently enjoy free road tax (also called Vehicle Excise Duty). However, from April 1, 2025, drivers of electric cars in the UK will need to pay road tax for the first time. The new 2025 VED rules will impact hundreds of thousands of EV owners and their electric vehicle running costs.

"As well as paying for road tax for the first time, there will also be an expensive car tax supplement for electric cars with a list price that exceeds £40,000. Many of the road tax changes will be backdated, which means drivers who have never paid for VED before will be required to do so after April 1, 2025."

They added: "The expensive car supplement currently applies to cars with a list price exceeding £40,000 for five years and is currently £410 a year. This means EV drivers with an 'expensive car' will pay up to £600 a year for road tax."

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