This year Britain’s motorists are being hit with several new rules and changes, most of which may have an impact on them financially. Among these changes is a change to the expensive car supplement that now rises to £50,000 for electric cars from April this year.

Confirmed in the 2025 Budget this change will result in an increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold for electric cars. This threshold will rise from £40,000 to £50,000 and could have a major impact on motorists.

Speaking to Reach about the changes to the expensive car supplement, Go Compare Motoring Expert Steve Ramsey warned drivers to be wary of the financial consequences of the change.

Steve warned: “The ‘expensive car supplement’ cliff edge means that, if your car costs over £40,000, you’ll pay an extra £410, at current rates, for each of the next five years.

“That’s over £2,000 extra that you don’t pay on a car with a list price of £39,995. So, watch out, as just upgrading the trim on your new car could be very costly.

“And don’t think negotiating a discount with the dealer will help, as it’s the list price that counts, not the price you paid.”

It isn’t just electric cars that will be hit by the higher car tax bands as petrol and diesel cars will also be affected, some to a greater extent than others, especially more premium models. Furthermore, high first year VED tax rises also apply to vehicles on a sliding scale depending data about vehicle emissions.

For example, cars producing between 226 and 225g/km of fuel will pay around £4,850 per year to use the roads, £170 higher than before.

Labour has since confirmed the rates will rise, in a statement exchequer secretary Dan Tomlinson said: “Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.

“As announced by the government at Budget, from 1 April 2026, VED rates for cars, vans, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be uprated in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) in 2026-27.”

The increases have proved controversial given the rising cost of living, cost of driving, and intensifying pothole crisis on the UK’s roads leaving motorists feel more and more out of pocket.

In response, a new Parliamentary petition has been launched calling for the introduction of a new VED tax band to cover cars between the ages of 20 and 39-years-old.

Under the proposal, cars of this age would see a 50 percent “Transition to Historic” reduction in their VED and encourage people to keep their old cars rather than scrap them and get a new one.

The petition proposed: “Introduce a 50% VED reduction for cars aged 20–39. High taxes force functional vehicles to be scrapped, creating a “disposable” culture.

“Keeping existing cars is greener than building new ones, as it preserves embedded carbon. This “Young-Timer” bracket supports the circular economy and UK heritage.”

Responding to the petition on February 23, the Government concluded in their response: “While there are no current plans to reduce VED for cars aged 20 to 39 years, the Government keeps all taxes under review, and the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.”