Fleets want an easy-to-use technological solution to recording and paying the government’s planned electric car Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), says FleetCheck.
Peter Golding, CEO of the fleet software specialist, said that what was known about the scheme so far looked too much like a paper-based, 20th century solution.
“Fleets are not thrilled about the prospect of eVED but they do grudgingly recognise its need in the face of lost petrol and diesel fuel duty from fleet electrification.
“What they do expect though, from our initial conversations, is that such a scheme will be as easy to operate as possible and that is something that doesn’t seem to be recognised in the government’s thinking.
“The idea that mileage is estimated in advance, recorded by the driver or fleet, and then corrected at the end of the year following a visit to an MOT station, sounds very much like a solution from the distant past.
“In an age of connected vehicle data, apps and digital tachographs, it’s not unreasonable to expect something much, much better.”
Peter said that there was a strong possibility that the Government was sensitive about the accusation that it was tracking driver journeys, especially in the face of public criticism of the proposed new national digital ID scheme.
“Trust in governments – not this one particularly, but all – is currently very low and you can picture the social media memes that would appear if the government stipulated fitting a mileage tracker to every electric car in the country.
“However, that shouldn’t mean that fleets have to put up with a system that creates an unreasonable administrative burden. Efforts should be made to identify a technological solution that meets privacy needs and is easy to operate.
“Crucially, it should recognise that eVED is really a pay-on-use system, not the clunky approach of estimate-and-pay-or-reimburse.”
Fleets should be making their views strongly felt through the consultation on eVED that has already opened, he said.
“The good news is that we have until the planned April 2028 introduction to make our case and we should be engaging with the government now to make our views known.”
