Industry leaders warn that mixed Budget measures could slow the UK’s EV transition
Posted by: electime 27th November 2025
The Autumn Budget has prompted a strong response from across the UK’s electric vehicle and charging sectors. While the government’s commitment to extend EV grants and accelerate charge point rollout has been welcomed, industry leaders warn that new cost pressures, including future pay-per-mile taxation and business rates for charging bays, risk undermining progress. Their reactions highlight concerns around slowed EV adoption, reduced investment confidence and the operational challenges facing fleets, charge point operators and the wider clean transport supply chain.
Jon Evans, Head of Market UK & Ireland at Monta:
“Today’s Budget contains welcome and much-needed steps to support the UK’s transition to electric vehicles. The funding commitments show that the Government recognises both the momentum behind EV adoption and the pressures facing the charging sector.
“The announcement of £1.3 billion for the Electric Car Grant and £200 million to accelerate the rollout of charge points is a strong signal of intent and the decision to review the cost of public charging is also encouraging, but meaningful action must now follow to ensure that the overall charging experience becomes fairer, simpler and more affordable for drivers.
“However, this support risks being offset by the planned introduction of business rates on EV charging bays from April 2026. These charges are expected to add around £100 million in annual operating costs across the sector, a significant burden at a time when operators are working hard to expand and improve their networks.
“This creates a real risk of slower rollout, reduced investment and greater pressure on already tight margins.
“Dependable charging infrastructure is crucial as EV adoption accelerates and the phase-out of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles approaches. Yet maintaining consistently high reliability across a rapidly growing network remains challenging. Our latest analysis reveals that only 3.9 per cent of UK Charge Point Operators currently meet or exceed the Government’s 99 per cent uptime benchmark, with a further 26 per cent sitting just below it. This underlines the operational complexity the sector is already navigating.
“To keep pace with rising demand, operators need to be empowered to run efficient, resilient networks rather than face new barriers. This is why investment in more advanced AI-powered Charge Point Management Systems are becoming essential. These platforms do far more than monitor the status of charge points; they can anticipate failures before they occur, automatically diagnose issues and guide engineers to the most effective fixes.
“By reducing avoidable downtime, improving response times and helping operators manage their networks proactively rather than reactively, AI-driven systems are becoming a critical component in delivering the reliability and scale the UK’s charging infrastructure now requires.
For the UK to meet growing EV demand, supportive policy and intelligent operational strategy must go hand in hand.”
To be attributed to Paul Holland, Managing Director for UK/ANZ Fleet at Corpay, including UK brand, Allstar:
“The Autumn Budget has landed and it is every bit as tough as expected. Higher taxes, reduced growth forecasts and a new mileage tax for electric vehicles all point in the same direction. Costs are rising again and the businesses keeping the country moving are being asked to absorb even more pressure.”
“Nothing announced today makes life easier for fleets or small businesses. Fuel duty relief is still absent, with only a five-month freeze before staged increases begin from 2026. Incentives for cleaner alternatives such as HVO are missing. Support to help small firms electrify is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Government has confirmed a new EV mileage tax from 2028, charging 3 pence per mile for battery electric vehicles and 1.5 pence per mile for plug in hybrids. This is completely the wrong move at the wrong moment. If you increase the cost of running an EV, people will simply delay switching.”
“The Budget also highlights a wider problem: rising taxes across the board. The freeze on income tax thresholds has been extended to 2031, which means higher personal tax bills. That does not just hit households. It pushes up wage expectations and operating costs for every business that relies on drivers, technicians and frontline staff.”
“We must also recognise that lower economic growth has consequences for fleets. Every fraction of a percentage lost means less investment, less confidence and fewer businesses able to modernise their vehicles. Yet the Budget offers no new measures to help commercial operators upgrade vans, adopt cleaner fuels or manage rising energy costs.”
“Without targeted support, EV vans will remain impractical for many small firms. The second-hand EV market will stay weak. Greener fuels such as HVO will continue to be a nonstarter because they are taxed the same as diesel. And now EV taxation risks slowing progress even further. These are practical issues that Government has to confront if it wants a cleaner and more productive transport system.”
“The Government says it wants growth. Growth comes from giving businesses the space and confidence to invest. Fleets and small businesses needed support. Instead, they received higher costs and higher uncertainty.”
from Kelly Becker, President, UK, Ireland, Belgium and The Netherlands, at Schneider Electric:
“The UK is making significant progress towards net-zero transport with taxpayer subsidies helping to boost sales of EVs. Those financial incentives make EVs a more attractive prospect for drivers, which is why it’s important the Government has extended the Electric Car Grant by another year. Although, the £1.5 billion package to continue subsidising EVs and helping to increase the number of reliable charging points nationwide, is offset by the decision to introduce a new mileage tax on EVs and plug-in hybrids.
We appreciate the need to replace the revenue lost by fuel duty but introducing a tax on EVs at this stage risks slowing the growth of both the EV and electric charging markets while both are still very much finding their feet. It also sends mixed messages to motorists looking to make the switch to electric and could even make EVs less financially attractive.
We welcome the subsidies and the additional investment in charging infrastructure, but any slowdown in EV sales would create uncertainty for the automotive, EV charging, electricity network, and low carbon supply chain industries, reducing the ability to plan for future demand.
Taxation will be inevitable as the EV market matures, but for now, the UK is still building out the essential infrastructure and charging networks needed to support widespread EV adoption. Focus should remain on encouraging investment and growth to accelerate the move to clean transport. The Government has an important role to play in supporting adoption and helping to ensure a smooth transition.”
Delvin Lane, CEO, InstaVolt, said:
“Today’s Budget delivers a significant boost to the UK’s EV transition, with £1.5 billion committed to expanding grants and accelerating public charging rollout. Extending the Electric Car Grant and investing an additional £200 million in charge points will help more drivers make the switch and improve access to charging, particularly for those without driveways. However, this investment must not be overshadowed by new cost pressures, including the introduction of pay-per-mile charging. Such policies risk reducing EV uptake and weakening the investment case for expanding the rapid-charging network.”
On the pay-per-mile road taxation scheme: “We recognise that reforming how the UK funds its roads is necessary in the long term, and that pay-per-mile charging will eventually form part of that solution. However, introducing such a system at this stage risks putting off drivers who are considering making the switch to electric by layering on new costs. The Government must also consider the disproportionate impacts that such a scheme will have on drivers without home charging, who are already paying 20% VAT on public charging vs 5% at home, and on rural/low-income commuters. We urge the Government to work closely with the charging and automotive sectors to co-design a fair, future-proof system that maintains incentives to switch to zero-emission vehicles while ensuring sustainable road taxation.”
Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK, said:
“Today’s Budget sends mixed signals, which will impact market confidence. On the one hand, funding for EV grants and chargers are welcome. But on the other, the number of EVs using those chargers will grow more slowly with the proposed pay-per-mile charges for EVs. With the government failing to be joined up and consistent, it is affecting hitherto healthy market confidence and growth. These measures together do not give drivers a consistent signpost that it supports cleaner road transport, cleaner driving choices and cleaner local air quality.”
On the pay-per-mile road taxation scheme: “The UK’s motoring tax system needs fundamental, long-term reform. Change is inevitable as more drivers switch to electric, and no government enjoys having to wholesale reform car taxation. But the key question is how. The new pay-per-mile scheme proposed today must be designed carefully, consulted on properly and explained transparently.”
John Lewis, CEO, char.gy, said:
“The changes in today’s Budget will profoundly affect how people across the UK transition to electric vehicles We welcome the extension of the Electric Car Grant and additional investment in charging. However, new costs introduced through pay-per-mile taxation risk making EVs less accessible for many people. For households without driveways – which depend on reliable, affordable on-street and public charging – policy decisions must prioritise fairness and accessibility.”
On the pay-per-mile road taxation scheme: “While road-tax reform is understandable, introducing pay-per-mile charges too early risks discouraging people who are on the fence about switching. For the many drivers who depend entirely on public and on-street charging, adding new usage-based costs creates uncertainty and may slow adoption.”
Guy Bartlett, CEO of Believ:
“Today’s budget sends an encouraging signal to the industry and to drivers that the government is serious about accelerating the UK’s transition to EVs,” says Guy Bartlett, Believ CEO.
“The extension of the grant scheme, and a ten-year CPO exemption from business rates show real commitment to supporting affordable, accessible EV charging for all.
“We believe the £200 million charge point funding should be focused primarily on helping local authorities recruit the people they need to support the rollout and be used in a very targeted way to deliver charge points in sites which would not otherwise be commercially viable. We believe private sector funding can cover the vast majority of locations.”
“If we are to fully unlock the potential of electric mobility and make EV ownership viable for every household, further bold action will be needed,” adds Guy. “We urge policymakers to reconsider VAT on public charging and address how standing charges are calculated – critical steps to ensuring fairness and affordability long term.
“Believ stands ready to play our part, passing on savings directly to drivers and working tirelessly to make EVs the easy choice. We’re optimistic about the road ahead and look forward to continuing to work with national and local government to deliver a cleaner air for all.”
Joe Collison, managing director, CES:
“The new mileage-based charge on electric vehicles from April 2028 was inevitable as fuel duty revenues dry up. At around half the petrol rate, it’s a reasonable starting point that won’t derail most business electrification plans.
But I’m concerned about potential rate creep before 2028. As electric vehicle sales surge and fuel duty continues falling, the Treasury will face mounting pressure to increase this rate or bring it forward. That uncertainty makes fleet planning harder for small businesses.
The Chancellor says this measure will raise £1.4 billion and this shows just how quickly the electric transition is happening. For businesses still on the fence about going electric, they’ve got until April 2028 to prepare – but I wouldn’t expect this rate to stay static forever.
If electric vehicles make business sense now, this modest additional charge shouldn’t change that. But businesses need to factor it into planning and not assume the government won’t be tempted to tinker with the rate as adoption accelerates.”
Stephen Melton, Director of Commercial and Compliance at NAPIT, said:
“The decision to start charging drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles while freezing fuel duty for petrol and diesel vehicles seems to be sending mixed messages at a time when we should be encouraging motorists to make the switch towards electric vehicles (EVs).
“It is good news that the electric car grant has been extended but this is only for new cars so won’t impact the second-hand market.
“While any moves to cut household energy bills are welcome, the Government has also missed an opportunity to remove the link between electricity and gas prices which would have made technology such as heat pumps and EVs more affordable to run and even more attractive.”
