Rachel Reeves has been urged to introduce meaningful car tax changes at the upcoming Autumn Budget in a bid to accelerate the push for electric cars.
The urgency follows growing unrest from drivers, MPs and campaigners alike who have all demanded more support measures from the Chancellor.
Speaking to GB News, Dr Scott Arthur, Labour MP for Edinburgh South West, admitted that while he wanted his next car to be electric, the high upfront costs and lack of affordable charging options meant many drivers were being left behind.
"I could charge an electric vehicle at home, but the nature of where I drive compared to my house made it difficult," he said.
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Experts have called on the Chancellor to remove barriers for EV adoption at the Autumn Budget
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The MP, who currently owns a hybrid Toyota Corolla, shared: "It would have cost a fair bit to make that connection. I might even have moved house to make it easier rather than confront the technical difficulties in charging it myself. The reality was that not everyone could afford a £37,000 car. That limited who could benefit.
"How a car was powered didn't affect congestion. But affordability remained the biggest hurdle for drivers. Without proper support, the transition simply wouldn't be fair."
Lakshmi Moorthy, Chairperson of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), told GB News that the upcoming Budget represented a critical moment for the sector.
"The goal of our campaign was to raise awareness of the needs of the sector, and we achieved that," she said.
Ms Moorthy has called on the Government to introduce more electric car chargers across airports
|GARY STROUD BVRLA
Ms Moorthy shared: "But the work was not done. We wanted the Chancellor to look beyond just the number of chargers, and instead think about destination charging, airports, hotels, tourist attractions, and give businesses relief if they installed them. Incentives in the Budget could have unlocked real progress."
She warned that the second-hand EV market had to be part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's thinking.
The Chair of the BVRLA said: "We wanted to see support for consumers to buy used electric cars — whether through subsidies or tax relief.
Right now, the focus is too much on new vehicles. Without a plan for the used market, millions of drivers would be priced out."
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Meanwhile, Vicky Edmonds, CEO of Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) England, said her organisation's survey confirmed that upfront cost was still the single biggest barrier for electric car adoption.
"EVs were still about 20 per cent more expensive in the new car market," she said. "The Government grant helped, but we wanted to see more done in the Budget to support the second-hand market. That was where most families actually bought their cars."
Ms Edmonds argued that targeted tax cuts could make a huge difference.
She explained: "Salary sacrifice was one of the key ways people could access EVs affordably. We wanted to see it reinforced in the Budget.
We also needed movement on VAT for public charging, which stayed at 20 per cent compared to just five per cent for domestic energy. Cutting that rate could have made charging on the street or at a public station genuinely affordable."
"If you had a driveway, electric cars were almost a no-brainer; they were cheaper to run and easier to maintain. But if you didn't, you were effectively penalised. That's why public charging VAT cuts were so important."
Ms Moorthy also raised questions about whether the Government's Zero Emission Vehicle mandate was realistic without more fiscal support.
"I thought the 28 per cent mandate could be met this year," she said. "But sustaining it over the next few years was the bigger challenge. Right now, it is only people with more money who are buying new EVs. Without targeted tax cuts in the Budget, the transition risked becoming deeply unfair."
Experts have called for more support to be announced at the upcoming Autumn Budget
| PAMs Edmonds echoed the concern, warning that a failure to address affordability would widen the divide.
"The stats showed running costs were still lower for EVs than petrol or diesel, but unless the upfront price came down, adoption would be limited," she said."
The EV expert explained that introducing a package of grants and VAT reforms at the Autumn Budget "could make all the difference".