Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to support buyers of second-hand electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Used battery electric vehicle (EV) sales are growing rapidly. According to industry statistics, in 2024 the number of used EVs sold grew 57% compared to 2023. Growth is expected to continue as more and more EVs come onto the used market in the coming years.
The Government will continue to work closely with industry to monitor the health of the used market and residual values. We keep all policies under review, to ensure the EV transition takes place in an equitable and fair manner.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in benefit in kind rates for used electric vehicle leasing via salary sacrifice schemes on levels of electric vehicle sales.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the benefit in kind rates for new electric vehicles on sales of new electric vehicles.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the adequacy of the availability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on sales of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. 2024 was a record year for the deployment of public charging devices, with nearly 20,000 added to the network. The UK was also the largest EV market in Europe in 2024, and the third in the world, with over 382,000 EVs sold.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of benefit-in-kind rates for electric vehicles on the annual uptake of electric vehicles.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC publishes annual statistics which provide information about the company cars provided as benefits in kind to employees by employers, including the proportion of the company car stock which is electric. The most recent statistics were published in June 2024 for the tax year 2022-23, which showed that 220,000 company cars were fully electric, or 29% of the total company car stock, an increase from 50,000 in 2020-21.
The Government is committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles, and generous company car tax rates for electric cars have been a key incentive for increasing their number on the road. Electric company cars also play a significant role in supporting the used EV markets. At the end of their lease company cars are sold into the used markets, which is where the majority of car sales take place in the UK. There were 314,000 zero emission cars registered for the first time in 2023, an increase of 18 per cent from 2022.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) salary sacrifice schemes and (b) the Plug In Car grant in increasing uptake of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Favourable taxation measures to support electric vehicles (EVs), including Salary Sacrifice, remain a key driver of new EV sales. EVs bought through salary sacrifice schemes can also play a key role in supporting the used EV markets, where these cars are often sold after the end of their lease. Most cars in the UK are bought in the used market.
The Plug-in Car Grant (PICG) closed to new orders in 2022. The Government supported over 360,000 vehicles through the PICG scheme. An independent evaluation of this scheme concluded that it had a material impact on demand for new EVs.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of use of electric vehicles on emissions in the next 15 years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The main driver of electric vehicle uptake in the UK is expected to be the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate for cars and vans. This has legislated zero emission vehicle targets for sales of new cars, rising from 22% of new car sales in 2024 to 80% in 2030, and for sales of new vans, rising from 10% in 2024 to 70% in 2030. A cost benefit analysis was published alongside the regulation that estimates that this uptake of zero emission vehicles will deliver greenhouse gas savings of 29 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 5 (2028-2032), 79 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 6 (2033-2037), and a total of 420 Mt CO2e savings from 2024-2050.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people to (a) purchase and (b) use electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government will provide £120m of additional funding to extend the Plug-in Van Grant and the Plug in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant next financial year. Grants for motorcycles, taxis, and trucks are currently available until at least the end of this financial year. All grants are kept under review to ensure the best value for taxpayer’s money.
Zero emission vehicles will receive favourable Benefit in Kind tax rates until at least 2030. They are also exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) until April 2025, after which electric vehicles will still have preferential first year rates of VED in comparison to the most polluting vehicles.
The Government is committed to accelerating the rollout of charging infrastructure, to ensure electric vehicles are easy to use. There are currently over 74,000 publicly available charging devices and the Government has introduced the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 to improve consumer experience of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of electric vehicle purchases in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government closely monitors developments in the EV market. 2024 was a record year for the sale of new zero emission cars. In 2024 over 380,000 electric cars were sold, the highest number ever in the UK. These made up a fifth of the new car market – also the highest ever. In 2024, the UK overtook Germany to become the largest electric car market in Europe and the market as a whole grew by 2.6%, faster than France, Germany, and the EU.
The electric van market also continues to experience growth. New electric van volumes increased by 3.3% in 2024, compared to the previous year.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that firms are not managing to reach the 22-per-cent electric vehicle sales target; and what assessment they have made of whether the UK has the appropriate (1) legislation, and (2) infrastructure, in place to support the sales of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Due to the CO2 conversion flexibility included in the ZEV Mandate legislation, which allows a manufacturer to sell fewer ZEVs in exchange for reducing their CO2 emissions of their non-ZEVs, the Government believes that the car market as a whole has complied with the 22% target. In December the Government launched the consultation Phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting the ZEV transition which seeks views from the public and industry on how to support vehicle manufacturers to meet the targets going forward.