How many EVS would be sold in the UK without massive subsidies?

£11,000 subsidy per EV ad now pay 3p per mile!

From here:

Labour face plummeting electric car sales amid huge impact of pay-per-mile car taxes

“Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged an additional £1.3billion for the Government’s Electric Car Grant in the Autumn Budget last year, to bring the total funding to almost £2billion.”

“The Electric Car Grant helps motorists save either £1,500 or £3,750 off the price of a new EV that costs £37,000 or less, in hopes of accelerating the uptake of zero emission vehicles.

“More than 50,000 drivers have already made use of the service since it launched last year, with the Government launching a new campaign - “Get that electric feeling” - to further boost sales.

“Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) found that car brands spent more than £5billion over the last 12 months to subsidise the price of EVs.

“This is equivalent to £11,000 for every new electric vehicle registered, which has been criticised by the SMMT for being “clearly unsustainable”.

“In 2025, 473,348 new electric vehicles were registered, representing an impressive 23.9 per cent increase in year-on-year sales. Electric vehicles captured almost a quarter of the new car market last year, while petrol car sales dropped below 50 per cent and diesel languished with just 5.14 per cent of the total market share.

From Brave AI:

“New car registrations in the UK reached 2,020,520 in 2025, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This represents a 3.5% increase compared to 2024 and marks the first time since 2019 that the UK’s new car market exceeded two million vehicles in a single year. “

“Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, noted that the uptake of new electric vehicles was positive, but that steps needed to be taken to ensure manufacturers were not discounting EVs endlessly. He said: “The Electric Car Grant is helping, but manufacturers are still having to provide billions in EV discounts, with an unparalleled £5billion spent last year alone. This is patently unsustainable. “Furthermore, the impact of Government and industry investment will be diminished by a new disincentive - the proposed eVED tax.

From Brave AI:

” eVED (Electric Vehicle Excise Duty) is a new mileage-based tax introduced by the UK government for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), set to take effect from 1 April 2028.

· Rate:

o 3 pence per mile for fully electric vehicles (BEVs).

o 1.5 pence per mile for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
This is half the rate of fuel duty paid by petrol and diesel drivers (~6p per mile).

· Payment:
eVED will be paid alongside standard Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), either annually, bi-annually, or via monthly Direct Debit.

· Mileage Verification:
No GPS trackers or location data will be required. Mileage will be verified through odometer readings at annual MOT tests. For vehicles under three years old, additional checks will be conducted at accredited providers (e.g., MOT garages) at the 1st and 2nd registration anniversaries—at no cost to the driver.

· Purpose:
The tax replaces declining fuel duty revenues as EV adoption grows. It ensures all drivers contribute to road funding based on actual mileage, while maintaining incentives for EVs.

· Cost Example:
An average EV driver covering 8,000 miles per year will pay £240 annually in eVED (plus standard VED and any Expensive Car Supplement).

· Inflation Adjustment:
Rates will be uprated annually from 2029–30 in line with CPI inflation.

· Exemptions:
Electric vans, buses, motorcycles, HGVs, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are excluded at launch. Standard hybrids (non-plug-in) are also not subject to eVED.

“Labour has been headstrong in its commitment to banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, before only zero emission vehicles remain on sale from 2035. However, the planned introduction of pay-per-mile car taxes in 2028 will further impact electric car sales, with EV owners required to pay 3p per mile, and hybrids being charged 1.5 pence.

“The controversial road pricing structure introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves was seen as a barrier to entry for motorists, who could be taxed two or three times, despite owning a cleaner vehicle.

Plug-in hybrid drivers will need to pay the new pay-per-mile charge, in addition to fuel duty, which will also increase in the coming years as the 5p per litre cut is set to expire.”

“Another potential burden for motorists is the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which states that manufacturers must have a certain percentage of sales come from electric cars. By the end of the year, automakers must hit a 33 per cent target, which will rise to 80 per cent by the end of the decade and 100 per cent in 2035.

Pay £11,000 per EV in subsidies, the charge extra tax of 3p per mile for using the EV, then pay the highest electricity prices In the western world – then pay massive costs for battery replacements if they get damaged bumping over a kerb, pay massively higher insurance costs, pray that the batteries don’t spontaneously combust!– what’s s not to like forcing purchases f EVs via insane government energy policy.

Onwards!

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