Halfords boss says tax on electric cars may stall switch from petrol

The boss of retailer Halfords has hit out at the Chancellor’s move to start taxing electric cars, warning it will hold back the switch from petrol and diesel motors.

Chief executive Graham Stapleton said Jeremy Hunt’s autumn budget announcement that electric vehicles (EVS) would no longer be exempt from road tax from 2025 was “disappointing”.

Under the plans laid out in the autumn statement, electric cars registered from April 2025 will pay the lowest rate of £10 in the first year, then move to the standard rate, which is currently £165.

Mr Stapleton said it could impact the mass adoption of EVS, making them both costly to buy and now more costly to run. He said: “There’s no doubt the duty change on electric vehicles is not helpful. It won’t help the adoption of EVS for sure.

“EV cars aren’t getting any cheaper and raising duty is disappointing.”

Since EVS hit the market, these models have been exempt from road tax as the Government sought to incentivise take-up of electric cars.

But with an increasing number of drivers choosing EVS – 14.6% of all new cars registered in 2022 to the end of October were electric – the Government is under increasing pressure to help fill the financial gap left by their road tax exemption.

Mr Hunt said it would “make our motoring tax system fairer” as the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast half of all new vehicles will be electric by 2025.

Tax plans for EV cars labelled “disappointing”.