Vauxhall slashes EV prices to avoid new UK ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ tax
Vauxhall has cut prices across its electric vehicle lineup to ensure no model exceeds the £40,000 threshold that triggers the UK’s new ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ tax.
The price adjustment will save buyers £2,125 in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) during the first few years of ownership.
Until April 1, 2025, electric vehicles were completely exempt from VED. Now, owners of new electric cars must pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard rate of £195 annually thereafter – the same rate applied to combustion engine vehicles.
The new ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ adds an extra £425 annually for five years (starting from the second year of registration) on vehicles priced over £40,000 including options. This means affected EV owners will pay £620 per year in road tax, totaling £3,110 over the first six years.
Vehicles under the £40,000 threshold will pay just £985 over the same period.
Eurig Druce, Vauxhall’s managing director, said: “With electric cars no longer exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, Vauxhall is making electric mobility accessible and affordable for British drivers. The Vauxhall electric car range now sits below the £40,000 Expensive Car Supplement threshold, saving customers some £2,125 in road tax over the first few years of ownership.”
“The threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement has remained at £40,000 since inception in 2017 despite subsequent high levels of inflation – if it were to have risen with inflation it would now be around £52,000. With the average price of an EV in the UK at around £48,000, this new tax means that customers buying some of the more attainable electric cars on the market are now being penalised whilst at the same time we are trying to move as many British motorists to electric as quickly as possible.”
“The good news is that Vauxhall electric customers are below this new threshold, but we’d urge the government to reconsider this new measure and ensure taxation policies incentivise the majority of drivers to make the shift to electric vehicles.”
Vauxhall remains committed to the UK’s 2035 EV transition targets. The company has joined industry organizations like the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and ChargeUK in calling for the government to reconsider its EV strategy.
The Corsa Electric now serves as the entry point to Vauxhall’s EV range with a starting price of £26,880.
