Vauxhall has slashed prices of its entire electric car range below the £40,000 threshold to help customers avoid the new Expensive Car Supplement that came into effect today.
The move comes as electric vehicles are no longer exempt from road tax under changes implemented by the UK government on April 1, 2025.
By keeping prices below this threshold, Vauxhall customers can save £2,125 in Vehicle Excise Duty over the first few years of ownership.
Vauxhall says this decision aligns with its commitment to making electric mobility more accessible and affordable for British drivers.
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Vauxhall has slashed the prices of its electric vehicles to avoid the Expensive Car Supplement
VAUXHALL
The pricing strategy aims to help more people make the switch to electric vehicles despite the new taxation changes.
From April 1, electric vehicle owners will now pay the lowest first year rate of vehicle tax, set at £10 for zero emission vehicles.
After the first year, they will be charged the standard rate of £195, the same as conventional petrol and diesel cars.
This marks a significant change from the previous policy, where battery-electric vehicles were completely exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty.
The new taxation structure affects all electric vehicles regardless of price, ending the tax advantage that electric car owners previously enjoyed.
These changes form part of the Government's wider overhaul of vehicle taxation as electric cars become more common on British roads.
The Expensive Car Supplement imposes an additional annual fee of £425 for five years, starting from the second year of registration.
This supplement applies to vehicles priced over £40,000, including any optional extras. The extra fees are often referred to as the "luxury car tax".
For electric cars above this threshold, owners will pay approximately £620 per year in road tax, totalling £3,110 over the first six years of ownership. Vehicles priced below £40,000 will only incur a total of £985 for the same period.
This represents a significant saving of £2,125 for Vauxhall customers whose electric vehicles now fall below the threshold.
Vauxhall currently has several electric vehicles on the market, including the Corsa, Mokka, Frontera, Grandland, Astra, Combo Life and the Vivaro Life.
Eurig Druce, Managing Director of Vauxhall, commented: 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.
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Vauxhall's electric vehicle range is one of the most popular in the UK
VAUXHALL
"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."
He also called on the Government to reconsider measures and ensure any tax policies help drivers transition away from petrol and diesel, and towards electric vehicles.
