July’s Startline Used Car Tracker also found that 40% believe taxation on EVs should stay low to promote drivers to pick vehicles run on an electric powertrain.

The survey follows Where the rubber hits the road: Reforming vehicle taxe a policy document issued in June by the Resolution Foundation that proposed charging EV drivers 6 pence per mile from 2027 to make up for a £10 billion drop in road tax generation resulting from drivers moving away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

22% oppose road pricing for any vehicles. 10% said EV drivers should pay the same rate as those using internal combustion engine vehicles. Only 9% would opt for a 6-pence-per-mile rate to use their EV.

Commenting on the survey, Startline Motor Finance CEO Paul Burgess said: “It looks like there are really two key messages here from those who took part in our research. One is that people think EV taxation should be kept low in order to encourage more people into electric cars, and the second is that road pricing is not the preferred method to recoup lost tax. However, it also looks as though there is quite a lot of resistance to the idea of road pricing in general, which could give politicians and other bodies with an interest in how cars are taxed something to mull over. It has long been widely assumed that the UK will move over time to a pence-per-mile model for tax but it may be something that voters just don’t like.”

Paul added: “These are very low percentages and underline the extreme lack of enthusiasm for the Resolution Foundation’s ideas. It could be that legislators need to go back to the drawing board and identify new ways of taxing EVs that have more voter appeal.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research. For July’s survey, 319 consumers and 50 dealers were questioned.

To view the report from the Resolution Foundation, visit: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Where-rubber-hits-the-road.pdf