Overview
- The UK government confirmed on Monday that the Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) will begin on 1 April 2028 with rates set at 3 pence per mile for battery and fuel‑cell EVs and 1.5 pence per mile for plug‑in hybrids, billed via owner odometer declarations and annual MOT checks rather than GPS tracking.
- The European Commission has backed a new M1E vehicle class to spur low‑cost, purpose‑built small EVs by capping length at 4.20 meters, exempting certified models from new assist‑system mandates for ten years, and applying a super‑credit (about 1.3) plus origin rules to reward EU production.
- Germany has paid €53.9 million in purchase subsidies through June 2026 from a larger €3 billion fund, and early distribution data show cheaper and foreign models capturing a large share of approved grants.
- Manufacturers are reacting with mixed technical choices: Denza (BYD) unveiled the Z9S with a 102.3‑kWh Blade battery and variants claiming up to 920 km on the Chinese CLTC cycle and a 1,194 PS tri‑motor option, Audi set the A2 E‑Tron premiere for 7 September with WLTP range up to 649 km and a €38,200 entry price, and VW said it studied a range‑extender for the ID. Buzz but dropped it because of packaging limits.
- The package of measures shifts both policy and market dynamics by seeking new road funding, raising privacy and fairness questions over odometer billing, and steering automakers toward cheaper, Europe‑made small EVs or alternative technical fixes, which could change which brands gain in volume and which models qualify for incentives.