The government’s introduction of a pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is anticipated to drive a rise in car clocking incidents. FleetCheck highlights that the new electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) could leave motorists facing bills amounting to hundreds of pounds, making it financially tempting for some to alter their mileage. Adjusting mileage remains a cheap, straightforward, and hard-to-detect method of reducing tax liability, as noted by FleetCheck.

From April 2028, zero-emission cars will be subject to a new charge of 3 pence per mile, while PHEVs will be charged at 1.5 pence per mile, with both rates set to increase each year in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Other vehicle types, including vans, buses, motorcycles, coaches, and HGVs, are excluded from eVED at this stage, given the slower transition to electric power in these categories.

Recent analysis by CarVertical underscores the growing prevalence of clocking in newer vehicles. Using data from over 900 databases, CarVertical found that mileage discrepancies are increasingly detected on cars as recent as two years old, with the average rollback exceeding 20,000 miles. This trend suggests that the financial pressures introduced by pay-per-mile taxes could further incentivise such fraudulent behaviour among motorists.

Further information:

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/car-clocking-warning-from-new-mileage-based-electric-vehicle-tax