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Following on from my last podcast the Chancellor has confirmed the road mileage charge for EV's at 3 pence per mile in her budget but it would seem as though the Treasury is clueless as to how it will be measured and charged. But I have the simplest of answers. 

Headlines say “new EV tax,” but the numbers tell a different story. We break down the hidden nine pence per mile already paid by petrol drivers through fuel duty and VAT, then show why a visible three pence per mile for electric cars is a 67% reduction—not a penalty. The bigger challenge isn’t the maths; it’s the psychology. When costs are hidden in the pump price, they feel like fuel. Make them explicit, and they feel like tax. So we focus on the message that actually resonates: switch to electric and cut your road duty from nine to three pence per mile while protecting your privacy and funding safer roads.

We dig into a practical, privacy‑preserving plan that uses over‑the‑air connectivity already built into modern EVs to transmit a single data point: total UK miles. No GPS trails, no routes, no black boxes. We also solve the “holiday problem” by cleanly excluding foreign miles through simple geofenced counters, ensuring you never pay UK duty for journeys in Europe. For plug‑in hybrids, we propose a fairer system: charge three pence for electric miles only and keep fuel duty at the pump for petrol miles. Most PHEVs already track these figures, so accuracy is achievable without complexity.

Funding matters too, and not just for budgets. Instant‑torque EVs demand better road surfaces and grip, yet resurfacing cycles have slipped toward seventy years. Linking a visible slice of per‑mile revenue to maintenance strengthens trust and improves safety for everyone—drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. We lay out a three‑year path from legislation to full rollout, including standards, a large‑scale pilot, and OTA billing for EVs and PHEVs, with MOT‑based fallbacks for older cars. The takeaway is clear: EVs remain far cheaper to run, even with a three pence charge; the policy is technically feasible, economically necessary, and politically winnable when framed as a real saving with robust privacy.

If this reframing helps you see the issue differently, subscribe, share with a friend who’s EV‑curious, and leave a quick review—what part of the plan would you improve?

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