An extension of the plug-in car grant and a freeze in fuel duty are just two of the announcements that affect motorists in today’s Budget.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the government will provide £403 million for the Plug-in Car Grant, extending it to 2022-23. The government will also provide £129.5 million to extend the Plug-in Grants for vans, taxis and motorcycles to 2022-23.
The government is also publishing a call for evidence which will include how vehicle excise duty (VED) can be used to support the take-up of zero and ultra-low emission vehicles and reduce overall emissions from road vehicles
There will also be investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, ‘which will ensure that drivers are never more than 30 miles from a rapid charging station’. The government has committed to spending £1 billion on green transport solutions. This includes £532 million for consumer incentives for ultra-low emission vehicles.
Fuel duty will remain frozen for another 12 months, and the government will reduce most company car tax rates by 2% in 2020-21 for cars first registered from 6 April 2020. Rates will return to planned levels over the following two years, increasing by 1% in 2021-22 and 1% in 2022-23. Rates will then be frozen until 2024-25.
The Chancellor also announced the government will abolish small business rates alongside a number of other measures that will support small businesses over the next 12 months.
A total of £27 billion will be invested to improve the condition of 4,000 miles of roads in the UK.
Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), said: “NFDA will be liaising with the Government to understand the details of the incentives that will be provided to motorists for the purchase of ultra-low emission vehicles. We will keep our members informed.
“Following our lobbying efforts, we are pleased to see that the Government will publish a call for evidence on VED. Additionally, we are pleased to see that zero emission cars will be exempted from the Vehicle Excise Duty VED ‘expensive car supplement’”.
