From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

What I really wanted to comment on regarding the EV consultation was the gross disinformation below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/industry-encouraged-to-shape-uk-transition-to-zero-emission-vehicles

The Consultation Document is even more specific:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/phasing-out-sales-of-new-petrol-and-diesel-cars-from-2030-and-supporting-the-zev-transition

The so-called “industry research” comes not from the car industry at all, but from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), who would be better described as a Disinformation Unit. The link given takes us to their analysis here.

And the ECIU analysis makes it clear that they have based their petrol costs on the pump price, including fuel duty and VAT:

A typical comparison is the Zoe v Clio:

But when fuel duty of 69.54p/litre (inc VAT) is deducted, that £667 saving is reduced to just £167.

We also need to factor in the fact that VAT is charged at 20% on petrol, but only 5% on electricity. A 5% VAT rate on petrol would cut the saving cut to about £100.

It is of course valid to quote the full savings listed by the ECIU in relation to actual costs paid  by drivers currently.

But the Government is not doing that. Instead it is deliberately claiming that drivers will benefit from the transition to EVs. But they know full well that by the time ICE cars are banned in 2030, the taxation raised by fuel duty and VAT on fuel will have to be raised from other sources. Consequently drivers may benefit from cheaper charging, but will see those savings cancelled out by road charging or some other revenue raising scheme.

The Government also ignore the fact that EVs cost much more to buy, wiping out whatever paltry savings might be made on fuel.

The Zoe, for instance, costs £4400 more to buy then the Clio.

If a business put out misleading advertising like this, they would be hauled over the coals by the Advertising Standards Authority.

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