UK to Impose 3p-per-Mile EV Tax in 2028, Sparking Owner Petitions

The UK government has confirmed that it will implement an electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) scheme starting April 1, 2028. Under this policy, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be charged a mileage tax of 3 pence per mile (approximately RMB 0.28), while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will be charged 1.5 pence per mile. This new levy will be imposed in addition to the existing Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), meaning electric vehicle owners will have to pay both taxes simultaneously. The announcement has sparked discontent among some vehicle owners. A Reddit user launched a petition calling for the cancellation of the mileage-based charging system for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, noting that commuters alone could face additional annual costs of around £750. The petition has been submitted to the UK Parliament’s petitions website and currently shows 20 supporters. It is still under review to determine whether it meets the formal criteria for a parliamentary petition and is not yet open for public signatures. Several similar petitions have previously appeared on the parliamentary website but failed to reach the 10,000-signature threshold required to trigger an official government response. According to calculations, assuming an average annual mileage of 8,000 miles for UK drivers, owners of pure electric vehicles would pay approximately £240 per year (about RMB 2,200) in mileage tax. The UK government stated that the introduction of eVED aims to offset declining fuel duty revenues caused by the growing adoption of electric vehicles, thereby securing funding for road construction and maintenance. Critics, however, argue that the measure constitutes double taxation: EV owners already pay VAT on electricity used for charging (20% at public chargers and 5% for home charging) and pay the same VED as conventional fuel-powered vehicles. Adding a mileage tax, they contend, would result in total tax burdens comparable to—or even exceeding—the combined fuel duty and VED paid by internal combustion engine vehicle owners.