Motorists are bracing for a massive shake-up in car tax that could see some drivers fork out up to £2,800 more each year. The typical motorist is expected to see their road tax bill double, and for some, it will be the first time they have had to pay. Road tax (VED) increases annually in line with inflation, meaning drivers were already set to face larger bills.
However, in last weeks Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced tweaks to the VED bands that will impose additional costs on motorists. Reeves declared her intention to "strengthen incentives to purchase zero-emission and electric cars" by ramping up the cost of running petrol or diesel vehicles. Read more: 32 councils make speed limit changes Cars are ranked based on their CO2 emissions, in grams per kilometre, within these bands.
The new charges mean heavily polluting cars emitting over 255g/km are looking at a drastic rise from £2,745 to £5,490 doubling the expense. This affects numerous large vehicles, including HGVs and popular luxury models like the Range Rover V8 and Aston Martin Vantage. An average vehicle, with emissions of 138g/km, will witness its costs soar from £270 to £540.
Models such as the widespread Volvo XC90 are set to see an even steeper increase, from £1,095 to £2,190. Yet, not even owners of EVs and zero-emission vehicles can breathe easy, as they find themselves included in the new tax bands for the very first time. Models like these have previously been exempt from VED to encourage up.