The Government is coming under increasing pressure to increase the advisory fuel rates (AFR) for EVs as the price of charging increases due to the energy crisis.

Sogo MD Karl Howkins says drivers shouldn’t be penalised for making greener mobility choices

Despite rapid rises in energy prices, the AER, first introduced in 2018 at 4ppm, still only stands at 5ppm following a rise in December 2021.

And while HMRC hiked up the advisory fuel rates for petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars in the new AFRs from 1 September, it’s still not introduced a rise for EVs.

That’s despite the forthcoming changes that will see electricity in the home rise to 52p per kWh and the daily standing charge up to 46p under October’s price cap. Some public chargers could increase to £1 per kWh, which would see the Tesla Model 3 standard range costing around 21p per mile to run.

Flexible leasing firm Sogo, which has a core focus on electric vehicles, argues that drivers looking to make the switch to an EV need clarity on rates.

Calling for action, MD Karl Howkins said: “Drivers shouldn’t be penalised for making greener mobility choices. We need the issue to be urgently addressed by the HMRC ahead of the expected increases in electricity costs in October and next year.

“We have seen rapid growth in the adoption of electric vehicles over the last 12 months, as has the wider UK, and it would be wrong to see this momentum damaged by something so easily fixed.”

Sogo provides a range of services to help drivers move to EVs. It has partnered with Rightcharge to help drivers identify and install the best charging unit for their type of usage and budget. The partnership also enables drivers to access government grants and green electricity tariffs, along with smart billing options that enable EV charging to be split from the driver’s household bill to make reimbursement for company car mileage easier.

The company also teamed up with the BP Target Neutral service, which helped Sogo customers offset over 5,200 tonnes of carbon in its first 12 months.