Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has delivered her Spring Statement, without addressing matters raised by the motoring and fleet industries.
There was no announcement of any change to pending VED adjustments for EVs, or of any VAT reduction for public EV charging.
There was also no update on the government’s ZEV mandate consultation.
BVRLA chief executive Toby Poston said: “Electric vehicle registrations have never been higher, but the fleet and mobility services sector’s confidence in a fast, fair and affordable net zero transition is wobbling.
“Today’s Spring Statement failed to acknowledge or address the uncertainty and lack of confidence surrounding the electric vehicle market.
“Our current decarbonisation targets are at major risk unless policymakers deliver a comprehensive set of measures to drive long-term demand. The clock is ticking, and next week’s VED hikes will see that pressure building.”
Close Brothers Motor Finance managing director of sales John Cassidy said: “The decision not to reverse plans to apply VED to EVs from April will be a difficult one to stomach for motorists.
“Private demand is not where it needs to be as the initial costs of EVs, poor charging infrastructure and concerns over electricity bills put prospective buyers off. Applying VED to EVs provides one less incentive for buyers to make the switch.
This will also make the government’s targets, such as the ZEV mandate and the proposed 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles, harder to achieve.”
