New traffic legislation coming into effect today will see some drivers, including owners of electric vehicles, facing higher costs when hitting UK roads. Various types of vehicles, from private cars to heavy-duty ones, will be impacted by the updated laws encompassing excise duty and tachograph regulations.
The changes aim to increase safety on major routes while ensuring emissions standards are maintained.
A key update scheduled for 2025 will remove the congestion charge exemptions for electric and hydrogen-fuelled cars within London’s Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ), where each entry is pegged at around £15. From April 1 next year, electric vehicle owners will begin paying a new band of vehicle excise duty—commonly known as “car tax”—with annual payments increasing from the current rates; Approximately £190 for cars, £335 for vans, and about £25 for motorcycles.
Electric cars registered from April 1, 2025 will attract a £10 charge in their first year, up from £0 in the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, car owners registering their vehicles around that time may have to pay the Expensive Car Supplement if the list price exceeds £40,000—a threshold that was not applied before and presently stands at £410.
Additionally, Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax rates are set to rise for all vehicles, reports the Mirror.
Benefit in Kind (BiK) is a tax paid by drivers who purchase a car through their company’s salary sacrifice scheme. This tax operates similarly to vehicle excise duty, as it is based on the CO2 emissions of the car.
Over the past two years from 2022, the rate has remained steady at two percent, but it is set to rise to three percent in April 2025. The BiK rates will increase for drivers according to their emission levels, with a maximum rate of 37 percent for cars emitting more than 154g/km CO2.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are now subject to a Direct Vision Standard (DVS) and safety permit scheme, which was introduced by Transport for London on October 28 this year. The DVS scheme requires HGVs wishing to enter most of Greater London to have safety permits.
Lorries have until 11.59pm on May 4, 2025, to install the necessary systems and obtain the HGV safety permits. Lorries will be given a star rating based on how much road drivers can see from their cabins or whether they have a safe system in place.
Those with a rating lower than three stars and who fail to meet the requirements will receive a Penalty Charge Notice.
New tachograph requirements for commercial vehicles have also been introduced.
Tachographs, devices that log driving time, speed, distance and other vehicle data, are typically installed on commercial vehicles with maximum authorised masses of approximately 3.5 tonnes or more. Drivers will require an updated version of the device that records when they cross borders.