EVA England: An open letter to the Chancellor

Now is not the right time to do road pricing for electric vehicle drivers, says Vicky Edmonds

EVA England, an association representing electric vehicle drivers, has written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the wake of reports that a pay-per-mile charge is being considered for EVs.

Dear Chancellor

As the association representing the electric vehicle (EV) driver, I am writing an open letter to follow up on our recent submission to HM Treasury with evidence that drivers need continued support to be able to switch to electric.

Over the past few months we have seen some welcome acknowledgement from the government of this: with the announcement of the £650m Electric car grant, introduction of a new £25m cross pavement fund to support more drivers to access affordable charging, and commitments to consult on changes to make it easier to install cross-pavement solutions and access charging for those in rented properties. 

However, responding to the public discussion today about the potential for a pay-per-mile scheme for EV drivers, to be consulted on and introduced as early as 2028, we strongly believe that now is not the right time to consider introducing additional costs to EV drivers. Consumer sentiment is still sceptical of EVs, with 39% of drivers we speak to saying they will not consider getting an electric car, citing upfront costs, mistrust of the public charging network and a general concern that these cars are not and will not work for them.

Across EV drivers, the current steep costs of public charging mean that for those drivers without driveways, running an EV is proving to be more expensive than running their previous petrol and diesel car. Over 9 in 10 EV drivers have access to private charging. Amongst those, 87% believe their EV is proving cheaper to run; but for those without a driveway, who currently make up less than 10% of the EV driving population but almost 40% of the full driving population, that number drops to 50%. Without urgent action to address this charging divide, the transition to electric will stall.

Moreover, 46% of petrol, diesel and hybrid drivers cite upfront cost as their main barrier for not choosing electric; and 50% of EV drivers cited this as a hurdle to overcome before they could make the switch. Whilst 80% of drivers buy used, less than 25% of EV drivers do, and until the used EV market is an attractive proposition for people, upfront cost will remain a significant issue for many.

These figures are based on our latest annual survey, with 1,668 responses, of which 1,279 were full battery electric vehicle drivers.

The focus for the government must now be on shoring up this transition, by making sure EVs are affordable and accessible to all households. As a priority, we ask for:

• Urgent action to reverse the steep and increasing costs of public charging, through avoiding introducing business rates for charging bays, regulatory reform to tackle chargepoint operator’s prohibitively high energy costs, and equalisation of VAT rates between domestic and public charging.
• Continuation of the current favourable benefit in kind rates and salary sacrifice schemes – crucial for reducing upfront purchase costs and persuading drivers to choose electric – through to the end of the transition period.
• Support for households on lower incomes to access the EV market, particularly the used EV market by re-targeting existing grant schemes, incentivising greater extension of salary sacrifice schemes to this market, or looking at alternative schemes such as interest-free loans.

To even consider adding a potential additional £240 a year (based on an average of 8,000 driving miles a year) to the cost of driving electric at this point, with no parallel action to tackle the challenges highlighted above or parallel increase in fuel duty, which has remained frozen for 15 years, would seriously risk the success of the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and net zero targets.

EVA England is a members’ association, funded by and representing current and future EV drivers, independent of manufacturing and commercial interests. Our regular surveys of both EV and non-EV drivers, and our ongoing discussions across our driver networks, allow us to provide an up-to-date and accurate picture of both the lived experiences of those driving EVs and the perceptions of those who do not.

We urge you to ensure that forthcoming announcements at the Autumn Statement 2025 support the driver in switching to electric, rather than adding additional costs at such a critical point in the transition.

Vicky Edmonds is chief executive officer of EVA England