2025 UK Road Tax - Electric Vehicles could cost more than you think! new and old

incl premium car charges for cars over £40,000 when new - incl all the new 2025 Tesla Model Y for example!
Applies from second tax for 5 years.
I think you’ll find it could all be more expensive than you first thought!
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THIS VIDEO
In the UK we pay an annual VED Vehicle Excise Duty - more commonly known as Car Tax or Road Tax.
Changes were announced in the budget autumn 2024 and will take effect April 2025 until March 2026.
The biggest changes will affect Electric Cars and commercial vehicles.
We used to benefit from £0 zero / free road tax which was an incentive to buy an EV, but this will no longer be the case - affecting both brand new and used EVs.
How much will my car cost to tax now? Well if it’s an Electric Car I can explain how I’ve managed to interpret the rules so far. As I write it actually wasn’t very clear exactly how some of the new rules are applied to either electric, alternative fuel, hybrids and petrol / diesel but I think I’ve managed to get it all about there!
Link to Gov.uk page so do check for yourself: www.gov.uk/gui....
So whilst EVs now have to pay, it’s still less than emissions vehicles. High emissions cars are given a very hefty (first year at least) tax bill of over £5000!
But it’s important to look beyond the publicity saying it’s £10 for EV… this is ONLY for the first year!
I think you’ll find it could all be more expensive than you first thought!
Richard Symons
R Symons LTD "RSEV"
Used EV Specialist based in New Milton, Hampshire on the South Coast near Southampton and Bournemouth
#ev #tax #roadtax #vehicleexciseduty #fixpotholes
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[@jonathanmusto]

£605pa is absolutely insane for driving around on these pothole riddled roads. Broken Britain.

[@AGTC009]

It's not just broken britain it's ripoff britain !

[@josue_kay]

The loot has dwindled.

[@pickeringfamily449]

From 0 to 605 madness 😠

[@randomstoragespace]

100%

[@maverlk7]

£40k long ago ceased to be a ‘luxury’ car. Just a ‘milk the motorist’ scam!

[@SDK2006b]

Yep - it’s been cars over £40k since 2017, with no adjustment for inflation 😬 should be about £54k adjusted. The actual name of the tax is ‘expensive car supplement’

[@What-if-I-am-wrong]

Everyone will be driving mg haha

[@SDK2006b]

@@What-if-I-am-wrong: I drive a BMW iX - if I bought this new after April it would cost another £410 per year in tax 🤣 Could be worse though -those large fuel SUV’s hitting over £5k tax in the first year !

[@gobalgremlin7768]

@@SDK2006benvy tax

[@rodpanhard]

If you really want an EV and can hold off a year every 40k EV depreciates down to 18-20K a year later, even the modest ones.

[@jonathanmorris3874]

This will destroy the new car sales market. Especially for the higher end brands. You work your backside off to buy your dream car and then have to pay 1000’s in tax to drive on roads that look like they have been mortar bombed. This government is an utter joke.

[@Chris-mh3vf]

It was set up by the last goverment !

[@markbloxham1313]

Previous government policy from 2022 J Hunt

[@pantoqwerty]

Just move countries, the UK is absolutely f*cked these days. It’s sad to see, but it is in a death spiral and it seems there is no going back. I can see the young and able deserting it in droves for somewhere better, and who could blame them.

[@pantoqwerty]

@@markbloxham1313 it never matters who came up with a policy if the current government sticks by it. By doing so they condone it and may as well have implemented it themselves.

[@FFVoyager]

If it does (and it could well if people are paying attention) I would expect the government to make a change to the system. We'll have to wait and see.

[@anthonydyer3939]

Meanwhile a Citroen Ami will also be charged £195, while an 8 year old diesel car will be taxed at the old rates of £0-£30 depending on emissions. Message received: Stick with the old car and starve the government of VAT revenue on that new car sale.

[@Shocker99]

I'm happy to be doing my bit driving my old diesel 😁

[@IanLewisCymru]

I am.. ten year-old, low mileage, 3ltr Jaguar XF diesel that i LOVE. The ONLY conclusion I can draw is - do nothing and maintain it well. The govt. seems determined to cause chaos in the car manufacture/retail markets.

[@stuartburns8657]

2 diesels here. Both 70k miles, both had timing belts done and fully paid off. They get 50 and 55mpg. Tax is £20 and £30 respectively. Plan to sweat them for at least a few more years

[@martingill6996]

Yet another example of the environment coming last.

[@petersmith6520]

@@IanLewisCymrucause chaos in all markets including employment market, housing, air travel, road travel and education. Their interventions are already causing recessionary conditions across all of these markets. How utterly stupid!

[@rickeaston8963]

It's worth stressing that the 40K cutoff is the manufacturer's list price, including any factory fitted options (e.g. paint!). Any negotiated discount to below 40K won't count.

[@michaeldendulk2230]

Also is based on the price AFTER vat is added, to add to the sting...

[@Jaya365]

But of course, can't allow wiggle room.

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

Yes, can get huge discounts on new cars, but it doesn't affect the luxury supplement. e.g. Golf Type R used to be just under the cutoff, now well over. So there's several VW golfs that have to pay the "luxury" car tax.

[@notleks64]

£40k Premium tax is a joke, most mid range new car will be over £40k. Inflation pushed up the price of everything, yet this scam remained the same.

[@stevereilly]

inflation caused by the governments printing money and spending more than they have ongoing

[@James-bc1jk]

Inflation is caused by the government aswell so they f*ck up and we pay there debt what a great system lol still think you are free haha

[@beano6452]

Same with income tax thresholds. Frozen since 2022. Meanwhile, the roads and just about all public services are in pieces, so where’s the money going?

[@statementleaver8095]

IMO It's excellent that anything over 40k is High bracket band 195 isn't enough 365 minimum Power to charge must come from somewhere.....Nobody bothered that Germany & France own the Wind,Solar,Coal & Nuclear plants!!! You'll be blaming Brexit next 😂😂😂 Thatcher sold it all!!!!

[@tonyc2837]

It’s been 40 thousand pounds for a few years now. Strange how inflation doesn’t affect car prices but is standard on household bills. Another example of government trying to make us all poorer.

[@SDK2006b]

Since 2017. I bought a new BMW 520d Touring which just came in under the £40k bracket. The same car now (petrol) is £53k

[@concinnus]

All government price-based mandates (especially minimum wage) should be indexed to inflation. Anything less is rank incompetence, which is to say it's typical.

[@ericnewton5720]

Vote the bums out, follow the US and elect a disrupter

[@prophetsnake]

hope you voted for Brexit! I really do.

[@FFVoyager]

​@@ericnewton5720that would be as idiotic as the mango Mussolini is for the USA.

[@GarrySibbald]

Another nail in the coffin for the whole motor industry and disincentives the purchase of all new cars including EV's. Drivers will just keep hold of their existing cars for longer!

[@cloudbasenirvana]

As Kweer Stalin's puppet-masters old sausage fingers and heir Schwab over at W£F say - you will own nothing, you will go nowhere and be happy.

[@biggobmalc8118]

All this extra revenue for the government, and the roads will still be a mass of potholes.

[@colinwiseman]

Tell me about it 😢 my poor passenger side front wheel.

[@Chris-hy6jy]

Indeed. The Labour "government" is a bin fire!

[@Isclachau]

You plebs are not meant to drive

[@davidjohn05]

You want to live in Northern Ireland, the holes are Massive....you never ever see anyone fixing the holes and we have very few fast chargers and our health service is down the tubes

[@Shocker99]

Why build speed humps when you could just let the roads degrade?

[@dmomcilovic9185]

This government is totally insane, worse is people are doing nothing about it. We ate taxed tons on absolutely everything.

[@tomas4321s]

Don’t worry guys in UK, this is still less than what we pay in NL. Till Dec 2024 for Tesla 3 we also didn’t pay a single cent. Now in 2025 will be paying 25€, 2026-2029 75€ and from 2030 100€! Let me be clear, not per year but per month! That sums up to 1200€ a year!!! You are still good …

[@majordelays4909]

Feck that

[@Shocker99]

NL people pay car tax per month?

[@andreiarama8745]

What about taxes for ICE cars?

[@alancobbin]

It’s the same really as we have option to pay monthly also,very spiteful governments sadly!

[@fus149hammer5]

I thought you lot only rode bicycles😂

[@tonykelpie]

A common tip; if you have a zero tax car, renew in March with a payment of £0; this will keep your renewal date in March in future; this is usually the month before rises come in. At least it will save you several months of tax

[@tobydouglas5826]

If you are buying a 3 year old used car original price over £40k, if you tax it before 1st April, would you avoid the higher payment?

[@tonykelpie]

@ not sure; Richard might know; the HMRC website is usually accurate on these matters, and worth becoming familiar with

[@powersurge6878]

@@tobydouglas5826you avoid it anyway. Only new EV cars registered after 1st of April will have the premium tax. You will only pay £195 per year when you re-tax your car after 1st of April

[@zandralapoi9203]

@@tobydouglas5826no mate, you’ll pay that until year 6.

[@WH05GTH]

If the car is petrol or diesel then it would have already attracted the expensive car tax ,so it'll be £195+expensive car tax ,until its 6 years old .If its an ev then that'll change to £195 after the 1st of April regardless of original rrp ,so top tip purchase an Ev before the 1st of April 1 more years free tax.

[@gordonatkins9135]

Such a fair system…my arse

[@kenedwards9242]

Pay per mile?

[@spsmith45]

Disagree.

[@BeingD2023]

it no longer looks at emissions of the car. and ev should have the lowest charge. then everything about that should be petrol then diesel. it is stupid to have no matter age. petrol cars with charges under £100. the car still has its weight and still emits fumes

[@huwdavies6650]

They need to adjust the premium tax level as family cars, especially family EV's are now falling into that £40k+ band.

[@caolkyle]

Similarly the general tax allowances on wages has been the same for years. Currently paying 42% tax for earning over 40,000. Think it was also around 2017/2018 it was last changed. It should be raising with inflation too

[@PhilBradley-xb2tj]

@@caolkyleprevious gov froze the income tax threshold. Current one has said they will unfreeze in 3 years - daylight robbery.

[@katystulow8143]

Think I read that with inflation should be now more at 52k 😏

[@caolkyle]

@@PhilBradley-xb2tj agreed. Some pay rises result in being worse off too. Annoyingly too, I currently do Army Reserve training in my spare time and a day rate of £71 quickly turns to £31 and they wonder why people aren’t bothering anymore and numbers are down.

[@nickbea3443]

@@caolkyle As have HMRC mileage rates. They haven't changed for decades.

[@garyogden5873]

Hi Richard as a local to you I enjoy your videos. On Wednesday I left my 72 plate Jaguar I-Pace with the dealership in Huddersfield and drove away in a new Jaguar E-Pace diesel. I absolutely love the I-Pace but because I do relatively long journeys it became so uneconomical. My first scare was at my insurance renewal last Sept where I noticed that my £73k I-Pace was being valued at £26k. Worst still Jaguar in Christchurch a few weeks ago valued it at £22k. The second issue is the cost of public charging - 85p a Kwh. The infrastructure in NOT an issue as they are piling in chargers everywhere I travel and i do defend the charging infrastructure but I visited Cherwell Valley services a few weeks back where they have put in about 15 charging bays. As it was 5am I was the only one there and the charge rate was 75Kwh. When I called in on the way to Huddersfield there was only one bay free. My car charged at 40kw. The I-Pace consumption rate on the journey was 38kph/100km. That's 60 miles which took over an hour to charge. So chargers are increasing but it seems the infrastructure to the chargers is not. I've done my EV experience, never had anxiety and loved the car but where are the incentives to buy EV's when there is a total lack of Govt strategy?? Rant over!

[@johndoyle4723]

Yes, sadly the Ipace is a beautiful car,but has fared badly. Often the early pioneers are rapidly overtaken by the next in line.

[@mjcamp01]

Sounds like a pain. Gary, but remember that the charging speed was limited by the car more than the chargers. If your journeys would have been near open to all Tesla supercharger then it would have been cheaper, and likely reliably top speed that the car can handle.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

The question is why would anyone buy a jaguar ?

[@paddymckibbin3957]

Did you not put in a home charger and charge at night for less than 17 p/kwh

[@wilward6376]

unless you can charge at home on a 7Kw charger then it’s totally pointless I have a used ipace , love it and use OVO “charge any time” day or night at 6.7 p per Kw.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

Those over a certain age may remember flat rate vehicle taxation used to be a thing until 2001 when variable rate by engine size then emissions was introduced. Oddly, flat rate is being reintroduced for at the behest of motoring organisations, driver associations and the automakers. In 2000 the flat rate was £155 (£290 in today's money) and now at £195 so 33% cheaper than in 2000 (about the same as the cost of tax in 1991). Although, the first year tax based on CO2 emissions is new and effectively collects future tax payments under the previous 2001-2024 scheme in the first year of ownership.

[@Cyberprophet2001]

I would love an EV but the biggest thing stopping me is my current 2014 Civic Diesel SR. 65mpg running about and up to 80mpg on a run. 113k miles and just had his first non service item, a new alternator. Zero VED, first time starter, runs for peanuts….financially unviable to switch to an EV

[@stephenparker5272]

Me too, same car 2016 only 49000 m though

[@bullittuk]

Nobody buys a newer car to save money, there are assets and there are liabilities, çars have always been the latter​, if you are happy to continue with what you have its also a lot better for the environment in terms of carbon footprint@@stephenparker5272

[@fencingcoach3w]

Just so you know... Vehicle Excise Duty all goes into the General Taxation pot. It DOES NOT go to the up keep of the road network.

[@Studio-pg6pw]

It does for major road improvements but not local

[@brianmuir9059]

@@Studio-pg6pwno it doesn’t. It goes into that big pot and some of it is used as well as the rest of general taxation

[@physiocrat7143]

That applies to all taxes. The money all goes down the same drain.

[@Studio-pg6pw]

@@brianmuir9059 Sorry you are incorrect - there is the National Road Fund which started around 2015 which uses VED to fund major road improvements, as I mentioned above

[@tomw3102]

@@Studio-pg6pw last time i checked the roads are still shit

[@prisol]

its disgusting how the 40k threshold hasn't moved up with inflation. Daylight robbery !

[@ianjames3078]

The main thing I disagree with is retrospectively increasing ved to cars registered 2017 to now. That’s terrible.

[@DariuszTech]

I agree

[@mw8653]

Nothing about it adds up its just a tax grab my 11yr old diesel will be £40 my 1yr old EV £195

[@Patchow]

At least do the same to the Diesels that are literally killing us!

[@yscol1313]

I’ve been waiting for someone with reach to cover this - thank you! Everybody IRL seems blissfully unaware of the changes.

[@welcomeghosts_uk]

That £40k limit is totally incompatible with the ZEV mandate.

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

So is any form of common sense.

[@robertmorton8876]

@@welcomeghosts_uk also as car prices go up with inflation more and more cars will hit the 40k mark. They are slowly pricing some people off the road.

[@ianjames3078]

@@robertmorton8876just new car buyers, people can buy 5yo cars.

[@malcolmlytton9114]

Buy an old car and run it till it needs to be scrapped. You can buy several old cars for the price of one new one.

[@robertmorton8876]

@@malcolmlytton9114 2016 diesel with low mileage and FSH

[@mba392]

I’m thinking of buying a 40 year old classic car which will avoid road tax and ULEZ😂. These new rules will slow ALL new car sales over £40k….what a disaster!

[@powersurge6878]

The premium tax is already on for combustion cars but from 1st of April it will apply to EV’s as well. If anything it will affect sales of premium new EV’s.

[@zedzed1046]

15 minute cities spring to mind, the plan is all coming to fruition.

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

@@powersurge6878 yes, but it doubles, from an eye watering £2k to £4k on larger models.

[@kickpublishing]

Could be a market in retrofitting classic cars with modern standard engines and parts and running/repairing them indefinitely

[@ddon1797]

Yeah it doesnt generally if you can't afford £600 a year for the VED then you can't afford the maintenance cost of the car, ive got an A6 and nothing is cheap about it. Best car I've ever driven / used though, i miss the £30 yearly bill but the £600 wasn't going to stop me buying it

[@casperhansen826]

In Denmark you pay tax every year for your car, but it is based on CO2 emission or equivalent, for most EVs it is the lowest tax rate of about 80£ per year, but for a common SUVs it could be as much as but not linited to 600£

[@michaeldendulk2230]

UK system was identical till not so long ago, but then politicians started smelling money. I do believe it is fair EV's start paying at least something, but they're making the rules far too complex and restrictive...

[@Moss_Mortar]

That's how the UK is currently. Based on co2/km. As an ICE owner of 3 vehicles, this hasn't bothered me. I do believe that there should be a minimum though, as EVs are still contributing to the state of the roads. If its no longer to be based on co2 emissions, then all ICE and EVs should pay the same rate, or based on a vehicles weight.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

​​​@@Moss_Mortar- the government is going back to the flat rate system the UK had before 2001, applicable to BEVs and ICE - which is something motoring organisations pushed for over recent years. Although, with a kicker for more polluting vehicles, whereby a fair whack of the CO2 emission tax element will be collected in the first tax year, falling back to flat rate from year 2 onwards for these vehicles.

[@EleanorPeterson]

I gave up driving over a decade ago (ran out of money) and have got around on an old bicycle since then. It cost me £130 (new) from Halfords almost 20 years ago. Interestingly, to replace it like-for-like today would cost exactly... £130. I find that remarkable. I often tow a small homemade 2-wheeled trailer behind it, which is great for hauling groceries. Public transport is way outside my tiny budget. Meanwhile, motorists are being ripped off. Again. It's outrageous. Although I REALLY miss driving (I'm an old-school petrolhead and was an amateur rally driver back in the Group-B era), I'm very glad I'm no longer struggling to juggle car tax, insurance, MOT, petrol and servicing costs. Electric vehicles have never been an interest or an option for me (I'm way too poor for such whizzy techno-toys). Nothing about them appeals to me, but let those who want them have them, I say. I couldn't even afford the electricity to keep one charged and running. I feel a bit sorry for less affluent EV fans, whose eco-friendly dreams of a bright-eyed, happy-clappy, net-zero, emission-free future are about to take a right clobbering. If any UK government tries taxing bicycles in order to keep the transport coffers topped up as insurance costs climb, road infrastructure crumbles and crippling tax hikes cause car use to decline, be assured that the next Peasants' Revolt [the first one was in 1381] will start with ME.😠

[@MrPaulsim]

Don’t suppose with all this extra cash that potholes will be repaired ! 🤣🤣

[@Shocker99]

Why build speed humps when you could just let the roads degrade?

[@martyn1960]

Really useful summary. I guess the cost of lease cars will go up by at least £35 a month to cover the extra costs in road tax after April 2025.

[@dartanianrubanne3394]

Governments have consistently targeted car drivers as an easy, convenient, and highly profitable source of revenue. Given the substantial amount of money collected from various taxes on motorists, every road in the UK should be free of potholes, and we should have one of the best road infrastructures in the world.

[@joe-xm2tq]

Richard I love watching your channel. Continue what you're doing. Me and the wife been watching you for ages. Don't mind the dripping. It keeps the reinforcement going and spirits kept high with hope. Thank you

[@stuartburns8657]

2 diesels here. Both 70k miles, both had timing belts done and fully paid off. They get 50 and 55mpg. Tax is £20 and £30 respectively. Plan to sweat them for at least a few more years

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

And you can add 400 miles of range in 90 seconds! result!

[@stuartburns8657]

@@FirstLast-rh9jw I was on vapour before I filled it, heading to York. Projection was 523 miles. I get a steady 500, so can't complain

[@johnjudge6601]

Same here, wife's Mk5 Mondeo will be looked after like one of the kids

[@susanlane8803]

Mine, is an 18 year old diesel freelander, 116,000 miles, just had a new clutch fitted and will get another 60,000 out of her easily. A tank of fuel does over 500 miles at 50 MPG, never gonna give it up!

[@ronszeto6925]

VW 2.0tdi 230k miles strong…good for another 200k

[@BenCraven]

Another example of fiscal drag. Inflation has put the prices up but thresholds, including the luxury car tax threshold, have remained the same.

[@f1brianm]

Excellent Video again Richard thanks. This was all news to me. I was about to replace my 4yo M3 LR AWD with a new Model Y launch in May. I’ve already put the £200 deposit down. But now I’m thinking I should forget that and get another Model 3 and get it registered before April!

[@paulabbott941]

Mate, you've had 3 years to find this out. This is all in the 2020 TORY budget.

[@Hampo6t9]

3:55 Should you decide to take your car of the road, then 'retax' it in March...there's no need to take your car off the road. Just go to the Gov website and 'retax' it there and then. It will ask you if you want to 'retax' now, just click YES!

[@fightingfitness8024]

Hi. What date in March is best to retax it or does it not matter?? Thanks in advance.

[@grahamleiper1538]

Lack of clear guidance suggests things may change rapidly as the newspapers start frothing come March.

[@nedywest71]

That bis what I am betting on and hopping for :)

[@colinwiseman]

The newspapers should have started frothing back in 2022 when Jeremy Hunt announced it. If they do that now it will appear to be a bias.

[@MrGrtx]

You are right about finding a clear data list explaining new rates so thanks for your research i don't think they want to advertise it too much .

[@edwardbyard6540]

Cue lots of car makers selling for £39999 and then offering post-delivery "add ons". 😉

[@simonreeves2017]

Hi Richard, greetings from Oxford. As a BEV owner, I think it is only fair to pay VED, however the algorithm should be encouraging people towards zero emission vehicles. I have a 2019 BMW i3, my partner has a 2015 Audi A3 1.4 petrol. Under the new VED system, I will pay £195 PA for the i3, my partner continues to pay £30 PA for the Audi A3 1.4 petrol. There is no incentive here to switch the A3 for a zero emission vehicle, so we will be keeping it. Not sure this has been thought out!

[@Chris-hy6jy]

You have seen Rachel from Accounts haven't you? Of course it's not been thought through. A pile of rocks could do a better job.

[@kalex381]

So you won’t change the car because of the 195 tax? Which you will save by charging at home?

[@Chris-hy6jy]

@@kalex381 not if said car costs £40k+ and then burns your house down 🤦‍♂️

[@NickFoster]

@@Chris-hy6jy 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@simonpaine2347]

​@@Chris-hy6jyExactly how many EV'S have caught fire and burnt down somebody's house? Hopefully you can provide evidence of your claims, rather than what you heard down the pub, or saw on Facebook or Tik Tok.

[@Plexipal]

Plans to upgrade to new Model Y are officially out of the window.

[@EwanM11]

Don't be so hasty, just wait a bit. They'll be 39990 soon enough.

[@Plexipal]

@ Got to be the list price not the price you pay, so if you buy a used one between years 2-6 you pay the £600 tax.

[@Patchow]

The entry Model Y will probably be £39k again once all the pre facelift models are replaced

[@russellgilchrist3951]

Excellent explanation, you may have mentioned that if you buy the M3 at £39995, it will be the cheapest but if you change colour of seats or paint will take it over the list price which it is based on, also you mentioned dear ICE cars, could have mentioned the small petrol (panda, twinge etc) which will be charged the a same.👍

[@ScottWalker-q5m]

Really don't get this to be honest I have a 5 series diesel which is 30 pounds to tax it's madness that an electric car that's has no emissions at all will cost 600 pounds how does it make any sense

[@pantoqwerty]

EVs are remote emissions vehicles. Most of those emissions take place in China where they are built, where the power is generated, or where the rare earths are mined.

[@jamie-hb8gy]

zero tail pipe emissions not zero emissions.remember ev's create more pollution being built than running ICE cars,FACT!!!!

[@mw8653]

​@@pantoqwertyOr to put it more simply it's just a greedy tax grab.

[@Reallyreallywho]

@@pantoqwerty You are correct, factories will be the ones producing any sort pf emissions and they’re predominantly in China. UK didn’t produce the car so local air wasn’t polluted and somehow I very much doubt that UK will send money to China in any shape of form. So if we’re going by the emissions logic, all this makes no sense whatsoever

[@cretumarius9616]

@@Reallyreallywhoit’s a tax on the rich. Well done

[@markhurdus-nc2sj]

The premium levy needs increasing… £40,000- £55000 isn’t premium anymore… prices have gone up… this needs adjusting.. totally unfair… like you say, I’m not opposed to paying Road tax for an EV… but not the luxury tax, on a Model 3 which isn’t a luxury car… Ferrari is luxury!! I’m still buying the Long Range Model 3 RWD… this year… just gonna have to stomach the hike in tax.. (wife’s car is up for renewal before mine)…

[@Chris-hy6jy]

It's the car prices that have gone crazy and need to be reduced way down. A Golf shouldn't cost 40k+. A GTi should be around 30k. Regular Golfs should be 20k+

[@markhurdus-nc2sj]

@ You’re right Chris… it’s a total joke…a Tesla Model 3 in America costs £19000 - in the UK it’s £40000… we’re totally screwed in the UK…

[@davsan5329]

In the nicest possible way pal, you’re as much a part of the problem as the policy itself. Don’t know your situation so not judging, but just buying it anyway and taking the hike on the chin is exactly why the government gets away with lunatic policies like this. If the manufacturers weren’t selling the stockpile of +£40K cars, they would, collectively, have sway over the government and could force a change in policy (like upping the luxury penalty)

[@Chris-hy6jy]

@@davsan5329 agreed. It's the people buying these overpriced cars that's the problem. That and the way everyone pays for them on finance. Absolute madness!

[@markhurdus-nc2sj]

@@davsan5329I take your point, but when you’re looking at boot space… there are few cars that deliver a good size… plus the tech in the car is so much more evolved than anything out there… I can’t stand SUV’s… it’s up to the manufacturer to put pressure on the government, but they’re not. Unfortunately they’ll always be people that will buy them… sometimes you don’t have an option… I don’t see any other EV I like the design of… Polestars look like tanks😂… I hear what you say… 😊

[@eviljagtech]

Here in WV, United States the way the state does it is charge you up front for the loss in gas tax based on the national average. So $100 extra for Hybrids and $250 for BEV per year for your car registration. So if your driving more then 15k per year roughly your saving on the fuel tax.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

bet we'll see lots of cars at £39.9K with purchasable after-sales options....

[@darktherapy]

Yes. Manufactures setting prices based on government rules. Same as DJI did with sub 250g drones to bypass CAA rules.

[@daniel.wilkinson]

I’m getting a new ID.3 in Feb, just over the £40k threshold. I mentioned to the sales woman that timing this purchase before the road tax changes was part of my consideration when purchasing the car and she seemed surprised.

[@ADR365]

So by getting a new over 40k car before 1st April means you avoid the new luxury car tax, but your road tax for 2025 will be £10, and then £195 in 2026 and onwards? Is the luxury tax put on the price of a new car, or is it something you have to pay each year within the road tax price? Confused how the £605 for the 2nd tax year has to be paid for a new car bought from 1st April 2025.

[@kab7044]

I actually bought a new EV today that was over 40K for the reason you mentioned. It’s day light robbery without a gun!

[@nitrodave35]

You've already been robbed because that new EV has already lost half its value. Just check the values on Autotrader for pre registered cars. It's no joke!

[@acousticabuse6953]

Sorry for your loss 😢😂

[@rogerfroud300]

I bought an EV today, but made sure it stayed under 40K. The choice is yours.

[@PerryFred74]

Hahaha mug

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

@@PerryFred74 Yeah, that leaves me with a choice of some chinese cars or errr... some Stelalantis pap that can't reach the end of the drive. Every single Tesla is a "luxury" car, except a rock bottom basic fridge white M3. And that won't last the year.....

[@paulaschofield]

Over here in New Zealand EVs started paying a per km tax called Road User Charge (RUC). To give you a bit of background, diesel doesn't have duty at the pump and depending on the type and use of a diesel vehicle they pay different RUC. EVs also don't pay duty at the pump because we charge overnight at home or use public chargers which don't incur duty. To make this "fair" the NZ government introduced RUC for EVs last April at the some cost as a diesel vehicle $76/1000km (£35/621 miles). The Net effect of this is that our running costs when charging overnight at home have increased by 2.5 times. Hybrids pay duty per litre of petrol at the pump, and a hybrid able to do 4L/100km could be paying less than half ($30/1000km | £14/621 miles) of an EV. This means that charging overnight on a cheap EV tariff, it's as cheap to run a Hybrid as an EV. With public charging costing 5x more than home charging a Hybrid is much cheaper when doing road trips. The government has said that it plans to move all vehicles across to RUC and remove duty at the pump eventually, but there has been no date set. I have read that there is the potential for the UK to bring in something similar.

[@NiceandEV]

Another great video Richard, always informative 👍

[@jamieallen5970]

lol 😂

[@powersurge6878]

@@jamieallen5970what’s funny about what he said?

[@ncliffe4786]

Thanks, clearest explanation I've seen so far. Like you, I've no problem with the principle of paying road tax, and that the more expensive and more polluting should pay more. There may a case for a sliding scale from say £40K to £50K for the 5-year-extra premium, but that's a fairly small detail.

[@adrianinman]

These brackets are not based on what you pay, but vehicle list price…

[@narrowboatlongpod4176]

There must be a lot of pressure to increase the threshold for luxury status. However, the is some mileage in not doing anything until after April 1st because leaving it could increase the number of sales before the cut-off date.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

The government said they would review the luxury supplement for BEVs during the October budget, indicating it would be announced in a future fiscal event (taken to mean the Spring mini-budget).

[@josephmwilliams6754]

My MG4 is due for tax March 1st , so I guess I get lucky this year . Prior to buying this I had run x3 BMW's on the trot @£30 pa I wanted to buy another but an 8 month old 120D with the 190bhp engine was going to be £560 to tax so I refused to buy it . On top of that was the traumatic £1.90 a litre diesel during the last shortage , so now I'm electric! The £40k luxury tax is a joke and an obscene mugging by whichever Govt is in power . With the manufacturers rip off apres Covid, most run of the mill cars exceed the 40k . Motorists, we are low hanging fruit !!

[@DM-ki1bs]

The thing about the premium car tax is that it is on hold when the car is for sale and not taxed. For instance if a car has sat on a lot for a year untaxed the premium tax is brought forward another year until it has paid the full five years.

[@colinwiseman]

To make it clear to everyone, a lot of these changes are not new, but were introduced by Jeremy Hunt in 2022 inc. EVs and VED and the luxury car value at £40k. At the time it was expected half of new cars on the road would be electric. So he changed the rules to come into affect this year.

[@terryp639]

Totally irrelevant. The present government did not have to implement it.

[@michaelgoode9555]

​@@terryp639 They didn't implement it. It was already law.

[@katystulow8143]

Jeremy Hunt rhymes with c..t

[@chriswaldron9703]

I wouldn't be surprised if Labour strongly opposed the tax change when Hunt introduced them but will quite happy to see the money rolling in from April

[@colinwiseman]

@@terryp639 Of course it is totally relevant. You have multiple comments on this video complaining about Labour when rules were already in place! Unlike America whereby you can throw all the rules out the window, you can't just do that over night in a real country. Had you complained "they should have increased the £40k luxury car tax bracket" and you'd have been 100% right. That's an average car price today. £100k is luxury.

[@philellis134]

Great work chap, super comprehensive. Most people don’t mind paying vehicle tax (not road tax as you referenced it once 😬😃) I just wish they would put some of that into fixing the UK roads. At 55 I’ve never seen them so bad and with this it just puts me off even more from buying a new vehicle. 1. To be stung by the higher tax & 2. Because they just get wrecked. 😢

[@CarThought]

Moral of the story… Second hand diesels are still the most financially efficient way to travel.

[@davidjohn05]

A really good honest and useful video....as usual...thanks

[@OVB_NL]

My 2015 Model S is just getting better and better...and that's not even through a software update! 🙂

[@cretumarius9616]

Until you will need a battery refurbishment or new drive units

[@OVB_NL]

⁠​⁠@@cretumarius9616battery issues are minimal nowadays with modern EVs. Even on older ones repairs are pretty accessible…few people require a completely new pack. Drive units are the same…modern EVs pretty much don’t have drive train issues…for older ones, repairs are available just like when combustion engines need repairs.

[@AnIndianAbroad]

So in summary, the "6 years and older" filter on AutoTrader will become the most used filter soon!

[@martinedwards7360]

These road tax changes will kill the motor trade for premium cars 🚗. The used value of cars within the first 5 years will plummet.

[@jamie-hb8gy]

ICE will increase in value after 5 years as people will want them unlike ev's.

[@davidfoster7430]

@@martinedwards7360 the government dont want people to drive majority find it a luxury as it is,

[@martinedwards7360]

@davidfoster7430 new car sales will be hit dramatically. 40k is really a luxury car anymore. And even a wealthy person would gaul at paying 5k road tax on a new car 🚗. RIP the British motor trade. 🪦⚰️

[@fus149hammer5]

Won't affect real premium cars though. If someone can afford £200,000+ for a car they are probably loaded or a company director who puts the car as a tax expense. Or an MP......

[@martinedwards7360]

@fus149hammer5 I've bought cars over 40k recently. If I knew I'd be hammered for high road tax, I wouldn't bother.

[@Rossi593]

A great way of keeping the used car market alive. I won’t be buying an EV until it is at least as good as my 8 year old diesel X1. I’ll want 500 miles (real) range, aircon that works year round, charging as fast as I can fill and at no extra cost.

[@Paulruk]

The upside of this is maybe manufacturers will try keep a lot of cars under the £40k threshold. Seems so many EVs seem to be spread around this range. I think the Chinese may win this race , although the new Renault 5 has managed it.

[@nedywest71]

One thing I also hope for :)

[@johnhough6300]

This will put the motor industry again in turmoil We all wait to see the outcome I think it will be problamatic. Residuals are going to be scary

[@peterbratu]

They will do that by cutting corners and reducing quality.

[@Paulruk]

@@peterbratu Renault haven’t the quality is excellent in their cars and yet they are mostly sub £40k. Maybe other manufacturers will up their game now.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

The original luxury supplement was introduced, in 2017, partly as an anti-inflationary measure to disuade automakers from pushing prices up to maximise profit and so increasing inflation due to 2 million expensive items being sold a year impacting the cost of living for everyone. However, the tax supplement itself hasn't been indexed with inflation itself and now acts as a stealth tax rather than an anti-inflationary measure.

[@CarolSteele]

Why should vehicles which have high emissions suddenly be taxed the same as emission free vehicles after the second year. Surely the damage they do to the environment is a constant (or even increasing) threat and should be taxed as such.

[@stevegordon2032]

Damage to the environment. Do me a favour. It’s codswallop pushed by Ed Miliband to line his own pockets. No such thing as David Lammy proves. Another climate change activist, but who constantly flies around the world on jets so figure that one out.

[@bryanlewens2068]

Thanks for the explanation. I have a Tesla that I bought in March 2022. One more free year but I had been under the impression that I might have to pay the high price premium for a further 2 years after that. There tax policy gives the impression that government is not going to come up with a road use tax.

[@MR_THINQ]

We all saw road tax on EVs coming, with declining revenue it was an eventuality.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

Didn't require speculation, it was always known the VED zero-rate band was temporary for both ICE and EVs - it's was explicitly stated as such when it was introduced.

[@ianphilpott5164]

Great video Richard, very informative with best info you can find. As others have said £40k is no longer luxury level it’s basically a typical new car now. There has been talk of removing that from EV’s again or increasing for EVs but not confirmed by government yet. I want to replace my car but want to see new model Y road test reviews to see if it’s that much better than previous gen. Equally once normal edition next gen model Y start arriving I’m hoping to see more 23/24 model Y in the market. I’m sitting tight to see how this all pays out post April

[@markiliff]

Good measures. Thanks for explaining. It'll be intersting to see which EVs around £40k suddenly get price cuts

[@FFVoyager]

I rather expect that - especially from the new Chinese importers.

[@metube9541]

Very well explained as they have made it as difficult as possible to understand. Obviously intentional to stitch up the motorist.

[@sukybillan]

Well explained, crystal.

[@smoggydrones5664]

I’ve never paid more than £10k for a car. I pay cash and keep it roughly 5 years. £10K buys me a smart reliable car. My latest was a Volvo V40. I’ve had it 2 years and love it.

[@Moss_Mortar]

Absolute batshit crazy. If its no longer to be based on CO2 emissions, then we should all pay the same, or banded for vehicle weight. As an owner of 3 ICE vehicles, one of which is a transporter, id accept that the transporter would cost more than the Fiat 500 due to damaging the road surface more.

[@Shocker99]

EVs charged off the grid still produce CO2 and other toxins. They've just been relocated to the power stations. Not to give them ideas, but one could argue that all electrical power consumption also produces the same toxins.

[@forferdeilig]

Generally the exhaust stack of the power station isn't right at street level in a town tho...

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

I'm not sure the owners of 3 ton EV's will agree with that approach.

[@ianbritton_UK]

I bought a Peugeot 5008 1.5D last week, brand new unregistered for £31,000 BUT because it was originally RRP over £41K it will get the luxury car bonus Tax WHAT A RIP OFF

[@Mr_Kenneth]

I have a 2013 Mokka Diesel and costs £35 a year road tax. It looks new and runs great - plus it gives 50mpg and 650 miles on a full tank. Would I buy an EV? Go figure

[@jaycee2203]

I love that you videos focus on the facts. While i’m not against EV’s paying some tax, I think it should be around £20-£50 a year so it is still an incentive, I think the “luxury” tax needs to be reviewed because it clearly isn’t keeping up with inflation, you can easily exceed 40k on your average family hatchback with a few options these days.

[@adyb5438]

I can imagine that a number of manufacturers will start playing with list prices. I was playing with the configurator for a Kia EV3 GT Line, which when you added metallic paint, raised the price to £40,120 - effectively resulting in an overall cost just short of £2,700 for the paint alone!!

[@NickFoster]

It's the same with Tesla, the base Model 3 is £39,990. The moment you pick a single option like paint or wheels it's over the £40k :/

[@rogerfroud300]

Exactly, which is why I ordered the Air edition. Kia have missed a trick with this one.

[@lynnfisher4396]

@@rogerfroud300and get the bonus of a centre storage bin and not the silly ironing board the GT versions get.

[@roryyeadon1702]

Good video. Perhaps worth pointing out that as I understand it the £40k is based on the list price inc. extras not any discounted price you actually pay. I bought my Model Y new in March 23 so I'm lucky as I'll get another year at £0.

[@conradmilson6654]

This luxury tax should never been have been introduced in the first place. At the worst it should have been raised each year same as the road tax. As usual we are being ripped off.

[@gobalgremlin7768]

Should be called the envy tax! If you have bought a car over £40,000 say £60,000 you will probably have paid more tax than the £40,000 car so in fairness the cheaper car should be taxed more as it hasn’t contributed as much to the tax system as the more expensive one.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

​@@gobalgremlin7768- it's more of an anti-flationary measure to stop automakers prioritising profits at the expense of the cost of living for every one, however, since introduced in 2017 it quickly became a stealth tax.

[@farazbaber409]

Yes, I have bought an EV this month purely to avoid the Luxury Car Tax and your insight to renew the car tax for EV’s in March is worth considering. To penalise EVs at time the Govt are seeking an uplift in take up and have set manufacturers with high ev sales targets is just an example of no joined up thinking of policy aspiration vs fiscal taxation. So, lets take a Tesla Model Y current version vs the new one in May - it becomes a c.£12k differentiator when you add in the new luxury car tax… just makes sales even harder and out of reach for the majority.

[@Grant.G.Simpson]

it's a bunch of clowns running this country, i expect a rush on pre 2017 small cars with free or £20 road tax.... i.e skoda fabia 1.2 dsg =£20 rfl per year....unless they changing I.C.E pre 17 plates too?

[@markbloxham1313]

Brought in by the previous government though.

[@danielwaters4210]

Nope, a diesel 5 series from early 2017 will still be £30 a year. As said above though this crazy policy was cooked up in 2022 by the last lot, though the current lot have chosen to let it continue

[@paulabbott941]

@@markbloxham1313 Correct. There's an awful lot of people who are not that well read or just like to shout.

[@JanBlanchArtist]

Thanks for the video. Appreciate the time you have spent researching this.

[@philmyerscough1]

I think this is a big kick in the nuts for the new EV market. 40k is not a luxury vehicle nowadays! I'm currently driving an EV but will be coming out of it soon. I've loved having it but the lack of incentives to run an EV mean I'll just go back to running an older ICE car now

[@EwanM11]

Do you have to lease? You could buy a second hand EV. £195 per year till they change the rules again.

[@Chimp_No_1]

Really interesting and helpful ! Thank you so much for sharing !

[@charleswillcock3235]

There are some very relevant numbers missing from your very informative video. If you drive say 150 miles per day and can charge at home over night chances are you will never need to use a public charger (or rarely) if you had a petrol or diesel car you could have been paying a fair bit in fuel costs with an ICE vehicle, with an EV you might have to pay some more taxes as Vehicle Excise Duty but you be saving a lot on your cost per mile for fuel. It would make a good video to explore how that might stack up.

[@dancam3269]

Spot on.....I do excatly that..30K miles per year...for 29 years with diesel,one year with a PHEV Volvo average MPG 127 and last 4 months fully electric and I have charged away from home twice! If you can charge at home its a no brainer.

[@G0ogs]

When cars first started to appear they was classed as having a luxury, I fear thats how they will end up.

[@petersmith6520]

Don’t buy them - no purchase, no VAT or supplemental car tax to pay. It’s not like a new car is a necessity for many. Less payroll tax from dealerships etc. Government will soon learn of their folly.

[@fus149hammer5]

@@petersmith6520 Then they will simply clobber older cars with massive taxes and maybe even put an age limit on them banning them from the road after say 10 years.

[@matt7997]

If your assumption is correct that buying an ex-demo EV would incur the full rate rather than the first year rate of £10 then there’s an easy loophole for polluting cars. If I want to buy a high-polluting car (e.g. Audi SQ7) then I ask my dealer to register and tax it. A week later, I buy the car from them as second owner. The garage gets 11/12 of their £5,490 back (£5032) and I tax it at £605 saving £4885. This will cost the dealer £458 but will secure them a sale. We could do with confirming what a new keeper would pay in tax for any car if they buy it less than 1 year old.

[@CJ0175]

Over 40k, you'd pay 600ish. Supplement is paid from 2nd VED payment. Not sure the 1st tax payment is pro rata refunded either.

[@John-FourteenSix]

EVERY car should be taxed at the same rate, £190 doesn’t seem unreasonable for my EV. We used to have a diesel Mini - what a sham that it will remain unaffected at £30… Classic cars should be included too!

[@SyKik8]

Cheers for the info. Have an EV company car on order and they have quoted late March for delivery. Is over 40k too, so hoping they don't drag their heels over this one...

[@dna100]

lol, and the honeymoon is over.... (for those that don't remember leaded vs unleaded, back then the government gave you a bargain until there was enough using unleaded for them to whack the tax up)

[@jamie-hb8gy]

which is what will happen if ev sales increased which won't happen anyway as they are just throw away cars.

[@MR-ry5tj]

Get taxed a premium on a vehicle that was ORIGINALLY worth £40k+ but yet a year or two later, is worth half that no problem. Time to start looking for loopholes.

[@martinballard2392]

They need to raise the threshold. - - its way out of kilter with ev pricing levels (£100,000 for a luxury EV)

[@stephenclay6852]

Hi you explained that well and yes I’m looking at changing my car before this comes in.

[@spice3767]

We all hate this tax buts it’s About time ev owners paid tax

[@rogerfroud300]

Why, when there are no other tax incentives to get people to make the change. The ICE tax should go up and there should be incentives to move away from them.

[@gap9992]

@@rogerfroud300 There are still massive tax advantages for EVs purchased through businesses and salary sacrifice schemes so they will still be better off compared with a similar priced ICE. In our totally unfair system, private buyers get zero tax incentives. I don't think there is another country in the world that treats its people so unfairly

[@st200ol]

Agreed, however this is just a temporary measure at best, the money the government lose on fuel tax will force even more drastic tax changes.

[@Paulruk]

Agree somewhat but not at these prices, my wife has a petrol Toyota aygo that pays nothing in tax that makes a lovely toxic smell on a cold morning when warming up. Yet my EV that is charged on solar power will now cost £195 in tax.

[@tomclements9311]

I'd be interested to know if you purchased a vehicle below 40K but after you bought remote upgrades that effectively activate hardware already installed, would you then have to pay the premium tax?

[@robertmorton8876]

The premium cars tax should be index linked with inflation.

[@raydawson8904]

Very interesting and helpful explanation. Many thanks for your clear explanation.

[@garyhill9723]

I’m more concerned how they will deal with the loss of fuel duty. 10k miles in a 40mpg car generates £800+ in fuel duty and vat, the same mileage in a 4m/kWh EV generates around £8 in vat if charged at home.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Pay Per mile - Road Tolls - is how they'll deal with the loss of fuel duty.... Road Tolls will even snare the EV drivers who charge for free using solar etc.....

[@cretumarius9616]

Maybe only if you charge at home with special ev tariffs if instead you will use the public station probably comparable revenue

[@garyhill9723]

@@cretumarius9616 At 75p kWh my EV would cost about 19p per mile to run and generate 4p vat, the ice car it replaced cost about 14p per mile and would generate almost 8p in tax.

[@cretumarius9616]

@ at 0.75£/kwh an ev will be more expensive overall then a diesel and more inconvenient

[@garyhill9723]

@ absolutely but in 8k miles I have spent around £25 @ 60-75p kWh the rest has been at 0p (solar FiT) to 8.5p (Octopus go), as for convenience plugging the car in when you get home and waking up to a ‘full tank” seems to be pretty convenient to me.

[@gsmith882]

Traded my EGolf in for a year old BMW I4 a few months ago to specifically avoid the extra tax, although like you, I struggled to find exact details of what I would be paying if I bought it after April 2025. I'm glad I will be avoiding the over £40,000 tax. Have you done any video comparison of different wheel size fuel usage as my BMW has 20" wheels and I wonder how much range I loose instead of 18" wheels??

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

Labour put the nails into the coffin for Land Rover for sure. 10s of thousands out of work including suppliers etc, all down to net zero nonsense.

[@plongs3]

Nah, JLR screwed themselves and their customers with sh*t ingenium engines and cars as reliable as a Trump promise.

[@simonreeves2017]

Actually, the new VED bands were introduced by the previous government, not Labour. Also, Land Rover has not been British owned for a long time, it also has terrible quality issues that it has totally failed to resolve. Like Jaguar, these are lovely cars, let down by poor management and a lack of commitment from the staff who design and build them to make consistent quality vehicles. Such a shame.

[@Cocobongoben]

Jlr just had their best year of sales ever...

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

@@simonreeves2017 there's a lot of employment and manufcaturing in the UK, thats the point simpleton. And like Vauxhall in Luton and Ford, the ZEV mandate will hollow out UK manufaturing in favour of China, where the dirty business of creating batteries can be carried out without any environmental checks.

[@FirstLast-rh9jw]

@@Cocobongoben before these changes

[@Carlos1180]

You don't need to put your car off the road. You can tax your car at any time. I did it last year when rumours said this was going to happen then.