Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of newly converted electric vehicles having zero-rated road tax.

The Government are aware of the small market for EV conversions. Vehicles originally designed to run on electricity currently attract a nil rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), but this is not necessarily the case for vehicles converted from internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicle (EV). Vehicles first registered after 1 March 2001 which are converted to electric are not able to have their VED treatment changed.

The Government is strongly committed to the safety of UK road users. Therefore, in considering any changes to the VED treatment of converted vehicles, it must make sure that it does not indirectly encourage unsafe practices. The variety of conversion options, carried out with differing degrees of technical expertise, gives rise to complex safety and operational challenges.

However, as with all taxes, HMT and DfT will work closely to keep this policy under review as the market continues to develop.

Motorists should check the resultant tax liabilities of their vehicle before agreeing to undertake a conversion from ICE to EV.