The UK government has confirmed that it will introduce electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, despite concerns from drivers and industry groups about complexity, fairness and the potential impact on EV uptake.

The eVED scheme will apply to UK-registered electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars. Fully electric cars will be charged 3p per mile, while plug-in hybrids will be charged 1.5p per mile. Following consultation, the government has dropped its proposed requirement for electric and plug-in hybrid cars under three years old to undergo additional mileage checks before their first MOT.

In Northern Ireland, where the first MOT takes place after four years, the change will apply to vehicles under four years old. Instead, motorists with newer vehicles will provide an odometer reading and estimate their mileage for the year ahead when renewing their Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

Mileage will later be reconciled against verified MOT data when the vehicle receives its first MOT. The government said the new mileage-based charge is intended to ensure electric and plug-in hybrid drivers make a contribution to the public finances as fuel duty receipts decline.

HM Treasury said fuel duty revenues are expected to fall to “near zero” by 2050 as the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) continues. The government said eVED has been designed so that EV and PHEV drivers continue to pay less than the equivalent fuel duty paid by petrol and diesel vehicle drivers.

The government response follows a consultation that ran from 26 November 2025 to 18 March 2026 and received 5,133 responses. According to HM Treasury, 92% of responses were submitted by individuals.

The consultation found support for the principle that motorists who drive more should make a greater contribution. However, respondents raised concerns about the potential impact on EV uptake, administrative complexity, fraud risks, odometer tampering, the treatment of plug-in hybrids, high-mileage users and the fairness of charging for mileage driven outside the UK.

The government said it has “carefully considered” the potential impact of eVED on EV uptake and pointed to wider measures announced at Budget 2025 to support consumers and the automotive sector.

Those measures bring total investment to more than £7.5bn over the next decade and are underpinned by the reinvestment of around 80% of eVED revenue from the first three years of the tax.

The package includes additional funding for the Electric Car Grant, £200m of further funding for EV charging infrastructure, a decade of business rates relief for chargepoints and an increase in the threshold at which motorists with new EVs pay the VED expensive car supplement from £40,000 to £50,000.

HM Treasury also said the government’s review of public EV charging costs is due to report in autumn. The review will examine the factors behind price increases and consider measures to make public charging more accessible and affordable.

The government also said it will begin developing optional functionality that would allow drivers to use mileage data from their vehicle’s built-in connectivity. HM Treasury said the use of connected vehicle data would be optional and that the government would only seek to collect data needed to administer eVED. Fleets, leasing and rental companies will receive bespoke arrangements.

These include the ability to provide estimated mileage readings, bulk license and relicense vehicles, make bulk payments and use digital reporting processes, including an application programming interface for higher-volume operators.

Vehicles including vans, buses, coaches and HGVs will be outside the scope of eVED when it launches, because the government said the transition to EVs in those segments is less advanced. Hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars will be charged at the EV rate, while range extender vehicles will be charged at the PHEV rate.

Payment options will mirror the existing VED system, with motorists able to pay monthly, bi-annually or annually. Drivers who expect to exceed their original mileage estimate will be able to top up during the year, while unused mileage credit will normally be carried forward to the next licensing period. However, automatic refunds at the point of vehicle sale or change of keepership will not be available at launch.

The government said it will support refunds in further scenarios in future, including at change of keepership and other vehicle lifecycle events, with more detail expected by the end of the year.

HM Treasury also said it plans to introduce a legal requirement for vehicles in scope to have a functioning odometer, alongside offences for odometer tampering and for supplying or installing devices used to tamper with odometers.

Draft legislation has been published for technical consultation, with the next phase of work focused on finalising legislation, building DVLA systems and developing guidance for motorists, businesses, garages and fleet operators.