Early Vehicle Excise Duty renewals save EV drivers £47m
Electric vehicle drivers saved more than £47m by renewing their Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) early this year.
The government announced that new VED regulations introduced on 1 April would mean EVs had to pay road tax for the first time. This led to a flood of early EV renewals to secure another free year.
A Freedom of Information request to the Driver & Vehicle Licencing Agency by online used car retailer cinch found that road tax was renewed for 244,598 electric cars across the UK in March this year. This represents a rise of 1,467% compared to the 15,614 renewals in March 2024.
Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at cinch, said:
“Such a big increase in renewals shows just how many EV drivers might have got themselves another year of road tax-free motoring, and who wouldn’t want to save £195 if they had the chance?”
EVs registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 now pay the £195 standard VED rate, while those registered before then pay £20 each year.
EVs registered after 1 April 2025 with a price list of over £40,000 must also pay the ‘luxury car supplement’ of £425, while electric vans now pay £355 annually.
