New driving laws are being introduced today that will make motoring more expensive for some drivers, including those with electric vehicles. Private cars, public transport and heavy-duty vehicles will all be affected by some form of legislation, with changes to vehicle excise duty and tachograph rules.
These changes are expected to improve safety on major roads in the long term and help control emissions. One of the most significant changes planned for 2025 is the end of congestion charge exemptions for electric and hydrogen-fuelled cars.
This rule applies to London’s Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ), which currently costs around £15 to enter. From April 1 next year, owners of electric vehicles will start paying a higher band of vehicle excise duty, commonly known as “car tax”.
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Currently, car owners pay around £190 per year, while van owners pay £335 a year and cars and motorcycles pay a significantly smaller sum of around £25 per year. All electric cars registered on or after April 1, 2025, will pay £10 for the first year, compared to the £0 paid in the last financial year.
Owners of cars registered around this time will also need to pay the Expensive Car Supplement if their vehicles had a list price of more than £40,000. This supplement was not previously required and currently costs £410, reports the Mirror.
The Benefit in Kind (BiK) rate is also set to increase for all vehicles.
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 in accordance with their vehicles’ emission levels, reaching a maximum 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, introduced by Transport for London on October 28 this year. This 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 these 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.