eVED is a new electric vehicle excise duty the government announced at Budget 2025, designed as a pay per mile tax from April 2028 that would apply alongside existing VED, with proposed rates of 3p per mile for fully electric cars and 1.5p per mile for plug-in hybrids.
In its July 2026 response to consultation, the government confirmed it will proceed with eVED but softened some of the original proposals, including dropping mandatory additional mileage checks for cars under three years old and simplifying arrangements for fleets and leasing companies, while maintaining that EV drivers should make a fair contribution as fuel duty revenues decline.
The ZEV Mandate is the regulation that requires manufacturers to sell a rising proportion of zero emission vehicles each year, with targets increasing from 22% of new car sales and 10% of van sales in 2024 to 33% and 24% respectively in 2026, on a trajectory toward 80% of new car sales and 70% of van sales by 2030.
Guy Bartlett, CEO at electric vehicle charge point operator (CPO), Believ, commented on the latest announcement: ‘The introduction of eVED sends the wrong signal at a critical moment for EV adoption especially as government is considering giving in to pressure on providing OEMs further flexibilities to the ZEV Mandate. As government is implementing this tax at the same time as asking drivers to switch to EVs, it must also address the higher costs faced by those who rely on public charging. Measures such as reducing VAT on public charging and tackling CPO standing charges, which further increase public charging costs, would help keep the EV transition affordable, fair and attractive for consumers.’