Is the UK’s New Per-Mile EV Tax Already Slowing Electric Car Sales?

29 January 2026

Paul Francis

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Electric vehicles were once sold on a simple promise. Lower running costs, cleaner driving, and long-term savings compared to petrol and diesel cars. But a proposed change to how EV drivers are taxed is now raising uncomfortable questions about whether that promise is starting to unravel.

Black car speeds on a road with banknotes flying around. Green trees in the background, conveying a sense of urgency and motion.

Although the UK’s new per-mile road tax for electric vehicles will not come into force until 2028, evidence is already emerging that the policy is affecting consumer confidence and, by extension, electric car sales. For a market that relies heavily on momentum and public trust, even the prospect of higher future costs may be enough to change buying decisions today.

What is the new per-mile EV tax?

From April 2028, the UK government plans to introduce a distance-based road tax for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The policy is often referred to as a pay-per-mile tax and sits under the broader reform of Vehicle Excise Duty for low-emission vehicles.

Under current proposals:

Fully electric vehicles will be charged around 3 pence per mile
Plug-in hybrid vehicles will be charged around 1.5 pence per mile

The tax is designed to replace revenue traditionally raised through fuel duty. As petrol and diesel use declines, the Treasury faces a growing gap in funding for roads and transport infrastructure. A mileage-based system is intended to ensure that all drivers contribute according to how much they use the road network.

A teal car parked at night under misty streetlights, with the license plate GK70 GYJ. The mood is mysterious and serene.

How will the tax be billed?

The government has indicated that the system will avoid live tracking or GPS monitoring. Instead, mileage will likely be declared annually when Vehicle Excise Duty is renewed, with odometer readings checked at MOTs or similar inspections.

Drivers who exceed their declared mileage would pay the difference later, while those who drive less may be eligible for adjustments. In theory, the system mirrors existing administrative processes rather than introducing constant surveillance, although privacy concerns remain part of the public debate.

What could this cost the average driver?

The financial impact depends entirely on how much someone drives.

A driver covering around 8,000 miles per year, close to the UK average, could face an additional cost of roughly £240 annually from the mileage charge alone. Higher mileage drivers could see costs rise well above £300 per year.

This is on top of standard road tax charges that EV drivers will already be paying by that point. While electric cars may still be cheaper overall than petrol or diesel vehicles when maintenance and energy costs are included, the margin is narrowing.

Is this already affecting EV sales?

While the tax has not yet been implemented, modelling by economic and automotive analysts suggests that future running costs play a major role in purchase decisions.

Forecasts linked to Office for Budget Responsibility modelling indicate that the introduction of a mileage-based tax could result in hundreds of thousands fewer electric vehicles on UK roads over the next several years than previously expected. This reflects not a collapse in demand, but a measurable slowing of adoption.

Industry reporting has also highlighted weaker growth in EV registrations during late 2025, with some manufacturers experiencing sharp drops. While multiple factors are at play, including vehicle pricing and charging infrastructure concerns, uncertainty around future taxation is increasingly cited as part of the problem.

For many buyers, the appeal of switching to electric rested on cost certainty. Introducing a new variable into that equation, even years in advance, creates hesitation.

Why perception matters as much as policy

Electric vehicle adoption relies heavily on confidence. Buyers are often making long-term decisions based on projected savings over five to ten years. When policy signals change, even if implementation is distant, that confidence can be shaken.

The per-mile tax is fiscally logical from the government’s perspective, but from the consumer’s point of view it feels like the goalposts are moving. Some drivers now question whether EVs will continue to be favoured, or whether future costs will keep rising as adoption grows.

This uncertainty does not just affect private buyers. Fleet operators, leasing companies, and charging infrastructure providers also base investments on predictable demand. Slower adoption can ripple across the entire ecosystem.

Urban and rural impacts

The tax is likely to affect drivers differently depending on where they live.

Urban drivers who rely on short journeys and public transport may feel little impact. Rural drivers, who often have no alternative to longer car journeys, could be disproportionately affected. For those households, the mileage charge risks becoming a penalty rather than a fair usage fee.

This has raised concerns about whether the policy adequately reflects regional differences in transport access.

A delicate moment for EV policy

The UK is at a critical stage in its transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles. Sales targets, emissions goals, and infrastructure investment all depend on steady growth in EV adoption.

The per-mile tax is intended to solve a long-term funding problem, but its timing and messaging matter. Introducing uncertainty too early risks slowing momentum before alternatives are fully in place.

Electric vehicles are unlikely to disappear from the UK market. But whether they become the default choice for the average driver may depend less on technology and more on how stable and predictable government policy feels in the years ahead.

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The Great Christmas Soundtrack Debate: Why Certain Songs Never Die

Paul Francis
Dec 17, 2025
3 min read

There are few things as reliably divisive as the Christmas playlist. Some people want the classics from the moment the clocks change. Others would happily ban festive music until the last possible moment, then still complain when it arrives.

Yet every year, the same small group of songs returns like migrating birds. You hear them in supermarkets, pubs, taxis, adverts, office parties and school halls. They are inescapable. And for all the groaning, most people still know the words.

So why do some Christmas songs become immortal while others disappear after one season? The answer is a mix of memory, marketing, repetition and the way music attaches itself to emotion.

Why Christmas music hits differently

Christmas music is not just music. It is a seasonal trigger. It signals that the year is ending, routines are changing, and something different is about to happen.

That is why festive songs can produce intense reactions. For some, they bring warmth and nostalgia. For others, they represent stress, crowds, family obligations and end-of-year exhaustion. The songs themselves become associated with whatever Christmas tends to mean in your life.

Close-up of a hand holding a shiny French horn with visible sheet music in the background, creating a focused musical ambiance.

The power of repetition, and why it works

Repetition is not an accident. Shops and radio stations use familiar Christmas songs because they are safe. Customers recognise them. Familiarity feels comforting, and comfort keeps people browsing.

There is also a practical reason. Seasonal playlists are short. There are only so many songs that fit the mood. Once a small group becomes established, it crowds out newcomers.

This is how Christmas music becomes a loop. The more a song is played, the more it becomes associated with the season, which leads to it being played even more.

The nostalgia effect

Most people develop their “true” Christmas soundtrack in childhood and early adulthood. The songs you heard at home, in school plays, in your first workplace, or on car journeys become memory anchors.

Later, those songs carry the emotional residue of earlier Christmases. They can make a grown adult feel temporarily eight years old again, in the best or worst way.

Nostalgia is also why certain songs feel non-negotiable. They are not judged like normal music. They are judged according to tradition.

Why do some songs become classics

Christmas songs that endure tend to have at least one of the following qualities:

A strong, singable melody
Lyrics that feel timeless rather than trendy
A clear emotional tone, usually warmth or yearning
Association with a film, advert, or major cultural moment
Broad appeal across ages

There is also a seasonal advantage. A Christmas song only needs to become a hit once, then it can return each year. A normal pop song gets a brief window. A Christmas song can have decades.

The role of TV adverts and films

Some Christmas songs become permanent because they are tied to a story. A film scene, a famous advert campaign, or an annual TV tradition can stamp a song into the national imagination.

In the UK, Christmas adverts are a genuine cultural event, and music is a key tool in how those adverts create emotion. If a song becomes associated with a memorable festive advert, it can gain a second life, returning annually through nostalgia.

Films work similarly. When a song is attached to a festive film that families rewatch every year, it becomes part of a ritual.

Why new Christmas songs struggle

New Christmas songs have a high barrier to entry. They must compete not only with chart music but with tradition.

For a new song to stick, it needs to do something distinct while still feeling “Christmas enough”. It also needs exposure across multiple seasons. One good year is not enough. It has to return.

This is why so many new Christmas songs disappear. They are fine, but they are not attached to enough shared memory yet. Without repeated use, they cannot become a tradition.

The thing nobody admits: people enjoy the argument

The debate about Christmas music is part of Christmas. It is one of the few cultural arguments that feels harmless. People perform their dislike of certain songs, but often with a smile.

Complaining about Christmas music is almost a way of participating in the season. It is a shared joke. It creates conversation. It becomes part of the atmosphere.

Christmas songs do not survive because they are objectively the best. They survive because they become emotionally useful. They remind people of home, or hope, or love, or childhood, or the feeling of the year finally slowing down.

That is why they never die. They are not just songs. They are seasonal memory machines.