Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what representations he has received, and (b) what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the removal of Value Added Tax on the sale of zero emission vehicles.

A number of stakeholders have proposed the removal of Value Added Tax to incentivise the transition to zero emission vehicles. I have regular discussions with colleagues across Government on a range of issues relating to the Government’s support for zero emission vehicle uptake. We have put in place a generous incentives regime which assists with the cost of buying zero emission vehicles and their associated charging infrastructure and which rewards those motorists who choose the cleanest vehicles. The March Budget last year included the extension of favourable benefit in kind tax rates for zero emission vehicles out to 2025: company car tax is 0% in 2020/21, 1% in 2021/22 and 2% in 2022/23 through to 2024/25; and all zero emission cars are exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED). The Government’s Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) provides grant funding of up to £3000 to assist motorists with the up-front cost of purchasing an electric vehicle. At Spending Review 2020, £582m was announced to extend plug in grants until 2022/2023. Zero emission vehicles also have significantly cheaper running costs than conventional vehicles. It costs motorists from 1p per mile to run a zero emission vehicle. Additionally, motorists are often able to take advantage of local measures like free parking and exemption from congestion charging. The Government will continue to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles.