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What vehicles qualify for the alternative fuel discount?

Tthe DVLA and HMRC has announced the application of the alternative fuel taxation discount to mild hybrids for both Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and Benefit in Kind (BiK).
jonclay2020
Jon Clay

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7 September 2020

FLEET companies can now help drivers identify more tax-efficient vehicles through new data from cap hpi.

It now has over 1200 derivatives that meet the alternative fuel discount requirements set by the UK government.

The news follows an announcement by the DVLA and HMRC on the application of the alternative fuel taxation discount to mild hybrids for both Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and Benefit in Kind (BiK).

In response, cap hpi has added a new flag in its New Vehicle Data (NVD)  technical data under alternative fuel qualifying, which includes all qualifying vehicles, including pure electric, plug-in, and mild hybrids.

Initially, the DVLA and HMRC ruled that because these vehicles would never be propelled by electric power alone, as it would be in a full hybrid system, they would continue to be taxed for both their VED and BiK as a conventional petrol or diesel engine.

Due to the rule change, there are now several ranges where the mild hybrid variants are being taxed at the lower rate for alternative fuel vehicles, including non-RDE2 (Real Driving Emissions) compliant Diesel models.

More tax-efficient types of diesel vehicle can also be identified through RDE2 certified models. RDE2 diesel cars, which are exempt from the standard 4% BIK diesel surcharge, now account for over 35% of all diesel vehicles on cap hpi’s database.

Jon Clay, head of vehicle identification at cap hpi said: “Everyone at cap hpi has worked hard to ensure that we lead the industry in providing the data companies need to operate efficiently and profitably under WLTP regulations and it’s important that fleets are able to stay on top of the evolving taxation regime.

“We’re able to take this data and discover unique and important insights for our customers that will help them conduct new business even more profitably and provide better options for their customers.”

After significant investment over the last three years, cap hpi now has a 94% WLTP fill level for cars in its database. The development follows extensive and ongoing efforts between fleets, dealers, OEMs and government to ensure the data meets a wide range of needs.

In tandem to developing the WLTP data, cap hpi has replaced legacy NVD systems and launched new option management and derivative modules. The new systems allow the OEM codes required by WLTP APIs to be captured as an intrinsic part of NVD, making the process more streamlined.

Clay said: “Through a combination of performance management and system improvements, we have increased our data entry productivity by 181%. Further system investments are planned to enable us to continue increasing the quality of our service to ensure our customers have the tools they need.”

The automotive data company was the first to roll out a WLTP API in the UK, which gives fleets a solution to manage dynamically configured vehicles, and content collation of new, static values within new vehicle data (NVD).

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Chris Wright

Chris Wright

Chris Wright has been covering the automotive industry nationally and internationally for 30 years. Following spells with consumer titles he became News Editor of Automotive Management (AM), Editor of Automotive International, International Editor for Detroit-based Automotive News, and Editor of Dealer Update. He has also co-authored several FT Management Reports and contributes regularly to Justauto.com

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