Unquestionably the Government has some difficult decisions to make to plug public finances, but we have a deep concern that a tax on mileage of electric vehicles (EVs) will create doubt in people’s minds and be another deterrent to adoption of zero tailpipe emissions motoring right now.
Our own research shows that cost is one of the main barriers to EV adoption – indeed we took our own initiative to remove this from electric rental by offering price parity for B2B customers with internal combustion (ICE) vehicles.
With the Government’s ZEV targets unlikely to be met this year for a variety of reasons it is critical, therefore, that nothing is done at this point to discourage businesses and motorists from making the switch.
Putting a tax on mileage also feels counter-intuitive to the Government’s zero emissions ambitions.
It is also unclear at this stage exactly how this would be implemented for rental vehicles.
Rental is an effective transitionary solution to EV adoption, helping employers make the switch in a way they can afford, and which fits with business requirements.
It also gives private motorists the opportunity to learn about electric motoring in real-world conditions that dealer test-drives simply can’t provide.
We will, therefore, actively work with relevant industry bodies to respond to any Government consultation to ensure that the broad impact of an EV mileage tax is fully understood.
Tom Middleditch is a sustainability spokesperson at Europcar
