‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ The words of history’s notorious tax offender Benjamin Franklin are still apt today. Low emission cars like the Jaguar XE, Porsche 918 and Toyota Prius have hit the Treasury’s revenues. Under the current rules 25% of new cars don’t pay any road tax at all! It was only a matter of time before this was changed.
Vehicle Excise Duty on vehicles registered after the 1st of April 2017 is going to increase dramatically for non-electric cars. The main change is the introduction of a new first year rate, which is based on the CO2 emissions of your car. This ranges from £0 for a Tesla Model S to £2000 for a Lamborghini Aventador. After the first year a standard rate of £140 applies to all cars, apart from those with 0 CO2/Km of emissions which are exempt. If you car is worth more than £40,000 you will pay an additional £310 on top for the first 5 years.
| Emissions (g/CO2/km) | First year rate | Standard rate* |
| 0 | £0 | £0 |
| 1-50 | £10 | £140 |
| 51-75 | £25 | £140 |
| 76-90 | £100 | £140 |
| 91-100 | £120 | £140 |
| 101-110 | £140 | £140 |
| 111-130 | £160 | £140 |
| 131-150 | £200 | £140 |
| 151-170 | £500 | £140 |
| 171-190 | £800 | £140 |
| 191-225 | £1200 | £140 |
| 226-255 | £1700 | £140 |
| over 255 | £2000 | £140 |
Source gov.uk
The only vehicles still exempt from tax are those with no CO2 emissions at all, with a value less than £40,000. Those on the Tesla Model 3 waiting list take note, not only may you have you car delivered in the next 12 months, but you won’t have to pay any VED. The same applies to the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Renault Zoe.
The Tesla Model S meanwhile, goes from being exempt from VED to costing £310 a year. You can learn more about the changes from the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-excise-duty/vehicle-excise-duty