" Full EVs are a big financial investment at present but to sweeten the deal you get lots of benefits; cheap or free charging in some cases, free road tax, grants to purchase, business benefit incentives etc, etc. That’s all good when there are a tiny number of EVs on our roads but that is not the future. The future is more and more EVs, which means less and less revenue from road tax (which is based on emissions), so pay per mile is one possible way of reducing the HMRC’s shortfall. I expect us to all pay per mile within five years, we will have to if we are to pay for the changes in infrastructure needed to get us out of our petrol and diesel motors. I have always said that is the fairest way, the more you drive the more you should pay, it always struck me as unfair that a pensioner toddling about on a Sunday pays the same as the salesman screeching up and down the motorways if they drive the same car. But with EVs there will need to be new ways of charging us to use them, from paying more depending on the KW of the battery pack, size of car, price of car and use of fast chargers. My only fear is the poor are not left behind. If you have to drive plenty of miles because of your low paid shift work and you have a 10 year old EV, you should certainly be on a different tariff to a company director in a top of the range new Tesla or Land Rover. As we transition away from fossil fuel transportation, we must ensure we all pay what is fair, for our newer cleaner world!
Sumit Bose
Founder/Future Net Zero