Will the new EV per-mile tax change your purchasing plans?

WellKnownSid

I'm going to get an EV anyway

We never bought en EV to save money.  We did it because we didn't want to be late to the party:

• There were some savings to be made - but cliff-edge early depreciation, zero VED and no fuel duty equivalent were not going to hang around forever.
• Charging away from home requires new skills - I wanted to learn about things like plugs and apps and charging curves now so I wouldn't be that clueless idiot standing in the rain at a charge point in four years time when new EVs become compulsory
• I just liked the idea that we would have a filling station on our driveway instead of being beholden to Putin or a tanker drivers' pay dispute

The 0% deal from the EST and 65% saving vs a new car collided and the man-maths looked irresistible.

I never expected the man maths to hold up and the harsh reality was nothing like that, of course.  It was better than I could ever have imagined!

The car has been in positive equity for over a year, and the TCO (including insurance, servicing, electricity, etc) will be way-negative by the time we reach 2028 thanks to the additional offset of lower household energy bills on the EV tariff.

Of course the music will eventually stop - it has to - but a car that pays you to drive it over five years turned out to be a great decision two years ago.

Would I buy an EV again?  Of course.  I am looking at salary sac right now as 67% of any pay rise now goes to the government in tax, so that'll be cheap motoring for our main car.  Once again it won't be forever - the cost will rise annually but for now I can run an £90k "mid-life crisis" EV for the same TCO as our Dacia.  Seems fair.

Should people change their buying habits based upon 3p per mile?  With up to £3,750 off through the government scheme right now that's 125,000 miles pre-paid upfront.  Seems like a bargain to me.  Choose a car like a Suzuki or Toyota EV with a ten year importer-backed warranty and you'll be quids in with very low risk.

subjecttocontract

I was going to get an EV but won't now

Looks like quite a high proportion of car sales this year have been plug in hybrids. This vehicle will get hit both ways......1.5p per mile + fuel duty. 

Martyn1981

subjecttocontract said:

Yes I was seriously considering an EV, earlier in the year but decided against it for lots of reasons see below. To me the 3p per mile starter charge is just another negative contributing factor and it's a matter of how many negatives does one accept before they say enough, maybe the issues will be sorted by 2028 but I doubt it.

* Some of the media reports where people attempted a long journey and had problems charging their car along the way caught my attention. The chargers were either very expensive, or all in use, or were not working. Some of them required an app to be downloaded onto a phone. Different stops required different apps. All contributed towards putting me off my purchsse. One of my son's did a road trip with others to Germany and had some of these same issues.
* I usually only buy new cars so the heavy depreciation wouldn't be welcomed.
* I'm not sure if EVs are ok for towing.
* The charging infrastructure around the country doesnt seem to be quite where it needs to be just yet.
* Then I often wonder how the many millions of people who live in terraced houses or flats with no off street parking are going to manage to charge a car other than on public/commercial charge points.

Hi, a few answers that might help you, but of course, there's no rush so you can take your time till you are ready to move to a BEV.

1. I wouldn't worry about the long journey issue too much. Yes there are issues with some chargers, but more are rolling out all the time. But more importantly, Tesla has been steadily unlocking their supercharger stations to non-Tesla's. I think about 120 are now open. That should provide coverage across the main UK motorway network, but you will have less choice than Tesla owners. The Tesla chargers work, so are reliable, and are probably a bit cheaper than most even for non-Tesla drivers.

2. Fair point, but BEV's are tough and long lasting, so maybe dipping your toes in with a 2-3yr old, from a main dealer would work.

3. Towing - This will depend on the model, some are rated for towing, some aren't. But the torque delivery from electric motors makes them ideal for towing, as you have max power available from the start with a flat torque 'curve', rather than having to build up the revs. Also, whilst it will take more energy to get up to speed whilst towing (as it will with an ICEV), the BEV regen will grab some of the energy back when slowing down, so long as you do it sensibly/safely, taking account of the trailer weight.

4. As 1, but, you may find local slower speed chargers trickier to find (assuming you ever need one), or it may be fine, as you suggest, needs more time. But if you charge at home, or on the Motorway, not an issue.

5. Yes, this is an issue. Hopefully, many folk will be able to park outside their house, though I appreciate that this will be a lottery for some. But in that case, there is funding to the councils to help pay for the installation of pavement gully strips for you to place your charging cable in, and charge from home.

Again, not as cheap as home charging, but there are street solutions being rolled out such as lamp post charging, or ideas like Trojan where every space has a charger point installed, to prevent ICE'ing, as there are no parking restrictions, and may encourage a BEV, if you already have something like that in your street.

Side suggestion - If your household has off road parking, so home charging is possible, and a second (or 3rd etc) car, then getting a cheaper, shorter range, secondhand BEV to dip your toes in, is an excellent way to learn about the issues and place them in context. You will probably find (in this scenario) that the BEV '2nd car' quickly becomes first choice for most trips.

Best of luck.

subjecttocontract

I was going to get an EV but won't now

Thanks. Unfortunately most of the BEVs that I've seen don't appeal to me from a styling, design, price combination. Some of them look particularly ugly. I need to actually like the vehicle before I buy it and some that I like are very pricey. But, let's never say never eh ? 

DrEskimo

I'm going to get an EV anyway

subjecttocontract said:

Thanks. Unfortunately most of the BEVs that I've seen don't appeal to me from a styling, design, price combination. Some of them look particularly ugly. I need to actually like the vehicle before I buy it and some that I like are very pricey. But, let's never say never eh ? 

This was a bit of sticking point for me. I just bit the bullet with the Zoe as my mileage was so low I just wanted the cheapest “bang for buck” EV in terms of capacity and price. In 2019 the 41kWh battery owned Zoe was it. 

Fast forward to now doing high mileage and wanting to be in something I actually like and options were pretty limited. Went for the Model S as even though it’s pretty old EV tech wise, for me it’s one of the nicest looking EVs out there. Just couldn’t bring myself to get a 3 or Y….

WellKnownSid

I'm going to get an EV anyway

Switching from combustion to electric has opened up new possibilities - and the manufacturers going for an EV-only platform have the most.

No giant radiator at the front to get rid of the 80% of heat pouring out as a waste by-product means no need for a front grille and combined with the significant range benefits for better aerodynamics we see designers changing the fronts of cars quite dramatically compared to the much more conservative designs which haven't really changed much since the Ford Sierra.

This seems to have triggered a race for a new design language for the entire car - including LED adornments and all manner of things.  Screens instead of mirrors - Polestar have even gone further and removed the entire back window in the 4.  Be interesting to see where things go in the next five years.