IMI responds to government plans to tax electric vehicles

Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry has responded to reports that the Chancellor will announce a road tax for electric cars in the Autumn statement.

He said: “The news reported at the end of last week that the Treasury plans to add vehicle excise duty to electric cars is not surprising to most in the industry – albeit it seems slightly counter-intuitive to the government’s goal of reducing particulates.

“Clearly the reduction in revenues from road tax on Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles is a concern for government. But we really hope that Jeremy Hunt doesn’t just see the addition of duty on electric vehicles as a means to generate income for government coffers generally.

“The skills gap for those qualified to service and repair electric vehicles is still considerable; indeed it could actually widen rather than reduce in the next few years as a direct consequence of current financial pressures impacting businesses’ training budgets. While the availability of qualified technicians remains a bit of a postcode lottery, consumer confidence in making the switch to electric will be limited. And that, of course, could have a knock-on impact on the 2030 target.

“An injection of investment in training – especially for the independent sector which often feels the pinch first from an economic downturn – would certainly help tackle this issue.”