The BVRLA has called on fleets and leasing firms to take action on government plans for the new pay-per-mile charge for electric vehicles.

Titled Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), the new charge was confirmed in last week’s Budget and will kick in from 2028.

For 2028/29, the EV charge will be set at 3p per mile for battery electric cars and 1.5p per mile for plug-in hybrid cars, with the rate per mile increasing annually with CPI. Electric commercial fleet vehicles will be excluded for now, but could come in scope later.

A consultation setting out further detail on how the eVED will work is now underway, seeking views on its design and implementation.

But the BVRLA has also called on fleet operators and leasing firms to write to their MPs to take action.

Speaking following the Budget announcement, Toby Poston, chief executive of the BVRLA, said the eVED plans were “poorly timed and very problematic to implement”.

“In its current form, this retrospective tax will punish existing EV users and provide yet another deterrent to those considering the move,” he added.

The BVRLA has now said that eVED “is the wrong policy at the wrong time” and, with the Budget due to be debated in Parliament today (2 December), the UK trade body has called for fleets to make their voices heard to the MPs who will be steering that debate.

Thomas McLennan, director of policy and public affairs, commented: “The BVRLA has long called for a considered, strategic introduction of a new road user charging regime. The proposed eVED will not provide this. In its current guise, it is damaging.

“For the fleets, leasing companies and rental operators that have collectively invested billions in EV fleets, the measure adds more than a cost that eats into the TCO benefits of electric over petrol. It poses an administrative nightmare too.

“We need members and their business customers to unite in making the Government aware of the damage the current scheme would inflict on our sector. The BVRLA remains in active conversation with key departments, but we need the weight of the sector’s voices behind us.”

The trade body said the current plans for the eVED scheme should be replaced by “considered, cross-sector collaboration, which is the only way to develop a new regime that delivers the funds the road network needs in a fair, sustainable way”.

The BVRLA has developed an online tool that makes it quick and easy to send a letter to the relevant MP. It is pre-written but can be edited to add personal experiences if preferred. Details are here.