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The average driver doing 8,000 miles in a new 40mpg hatchback pays around £900 per annum in fuel tax and VED. Drivers of older cars can pay double this amount. Drivers of electric cars not only pay nothing whatsoever to use the roads, they also receive a gift of £4,000 from the taxpayer when they purchase their new electric car.

ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries explains:

“The ABD has no gripe about encouraging the use of electric cars. They do move the pollution source out of town, although new cars are extremely clean. However, electric cars still cause just as much congestion and wear to the roads as any other car. It is simply unjust when so many are struggling financially to give electric car drivers subsidies and free road use. We would like to see VED of £500 on new electric cars, £100 on existing electric cars and an end to the cash subsidy. This would still mean electric car owners would pay significantly less than other drivers but would pay some contribution to infrastructure costs.”

The new London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) sets a minimum standard of Euro 4 compliance for petrol cars and Euro 6 for diesels. As recent budgets have seen a welcome move away from CO₂ and towards NOx taxation, it seems at odds that many ULEZ compliant cars are paying over £300 1 and in some cases £520 VED 2 when they are deemed clean enough for city centres even by the London Mayor’s standards.

ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries said:

The ABD calls for a cap on VED at £200 for all existing vehicles that comply with ULEZ standards. Scrapping the strange anomaly because of which, cars with low NOx emissions are paying very high VED rates, would help drivers of clean older cars who are overpaying for no valid reason.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. 2008 Ford mondeo 2.5 £305 VED ULEZ Compliant
2. 2008 Vauxhall Vectra 2.8 £520 VED ULEZ Compliant

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