Fleet engagement with the new government consultation on Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) is “essential” to highlight a wide range of potential problems, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has said.
Paul Hollick, chair of the AFP said the industry body’s members “broadly accepted” the need for the UK Government to recover revenue lost from petrol and diesel fuel duty but there were major concerns about the system being proposed.
He said that the AFP “generally recognised” the need to balance the books with the decline in revenue from fuel duty. But there were “considerable problems” with eVED – the proposed ‘pay per mile’ for EVs taxation – as the timing was “highly questionable” with uneven growth of the EV sector and before such vehicles have mass adoption.
In addition, he said the public reaction had “not been positive” and that eVED could be a “major” barrier to EV adoption.
There were also problems with the eVED scheme as outlined, Hollick said, with the estimated mileage amount paid upfront and adjusted 12 months later following verification. He described it as a “hotch-potch”.
Paul Hollick said:
“The obvious alternative is a technological solution but journey tracking would inevitably and properly raise questions over privacy and civil liberties.
“Also, any form of hardware or software used to collect data could add significant costs for fleets and private motorists.”
A further issue, he added, was the need for drivers to book into MOT test stations annually to have their mileage verified, which went against the consultation’s “stated aim of minimising the administrative burden of eVED.”
Hollick added that the AFP’s Future Roads Committee would be convened soon in order to aggregate member views on eVED and present them to the government.
But despite the “many difficulties that eVED presented”, it was promising tha the UK government had established a track record of listening to fleets on major issues, he added.
Hollick concluded:
“Our experience of working alongside other industry bodies to present the fleet sector’s concerns about policies that affect us has been largely positive. The government often takes note of our representations.
“In the last week or so, we’ve seen this in new measures that make adoption of 4.25 tonne electric vans much easier and in the Budget, the extension of the VED Expensive Car Supplement to £50,000. We’re very much hoping a similar, pragmatic approach will be applied to the many concerns we hold about eVED.
“A plus point is that we have more than two years before the planned introduction of the new system and it is possible, even probable, that considerable time and effort will be needed to arrive at a solution that works for fleets, private motorists and the Treasury. The current consultation may well be the first step in a lengthy process.”
