The government is making its own EV target impossible to hit

As expected, there was no financial support to incentivise the uptake of electric cars in the chancellor’s budget this week. And with a general election now being tipped for as early as May, it’s extremely unlikely that any support will be forthcoming this side of autumn – if ever.

Several car makers have reacted furiously, the underlying sentiment being that EVs have been pushed to buyers at a set percentage whether they want them or not and car makers are the ones on the hook if they don’t reach that threshold.

As a reminder, the UK needs to get EVs to 22% of car sales this year but has been stalled at 16% for several months now. Private demand is particularly poor (business buyers remain incentivised through favourable company car tax rates), accounting for fewer than 20% of EV sales.

Calls for incentives have become ever louder, and rather than cash grants, as have been offered previously by the Treasury, a series of other measures have been proposed by many in the car industry.

Most prominent are the calls for halving VAT on new EV sales to 10% to mirror other green technologies in other industries looking for law-carbon solutions; and cutting VAT on public charging from 20% to 5% to match the VAT rate of domestic electricity.

Other measures proposed have been extending favourable VED rates for EVs that currently end at the end of the next financial year; longer-term commitments to low BIK tax rates to support fleet buyers in making long-term decisions; and removing insurance tax on EV policies.

Alas, chancellor Jeremy Hunt did nothing of the sort, instead opting just to continue the freeze on fuel duty. Mike Hawes, chief of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, called the budget "a missed opportunity to deliver fairer tax for a fair transition".

Fiat UK boss Damien Dally went further, saying that the lack of action meant that the government was "sleepwalking into an electric vehicle crisis”.

“Without any government financial incentive,” Dally said, “there’s no reason for the consumer to make the switch [to EVs]".

Vauxhall boss James Taylor added: “Whilst there are strong incentives for company car drivers to make the switch to electric, including for those choosing luxury vehicles, the private buyer who wants a more attainable small or family car receives nothing."

Mark Tisshaw

Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.