SECONDHAND ELECTRIC CAR SALES SURGE AS REEVES PLOTS PAY-PER-MILE TAX
One in every 25 used cars sold is now electric as Rachel Reeves faces warnings that a pay-per-mile road tax will act as a “major deterrent” to switching.
Electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 4pc of the secondhand market in the three months to September, up from 2.8pc for the same period a year earlier.
This was after sales rose to 80,614 cars, a 44pc increase on the same period in 2024, according to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Used vehicles account for roughly three quarters of car sales in the UK, equivalent to more than two million transactions in the third quarter of this year alone.
This makes the market vital to the Government’s plans to ensure mass adoption of electric cars.
But the new figures have emerged as Ms Reeves, the Chancellor, is preparing to hit EV drivers with a pay-per-mile road tax.
The Telegraph revealed last week that she is mulling a levy of 3p per mile travelled – on top of other vehicle taxes – on all EV drivers from 2028, in a bid to replace falling fuel duty revenues.
Critics, including the AA, have warned that the measure risks becoming “a poll tax on wheels” and could slam the brakes on electric car adoption.
The SMMT also warned on Monday that the proposals “risk acting as a major deterrent to drivers of new and used cars alike from switching to EVs”.
The lobby group is also up in arms about Ms Reeves’s previously announced plan to end tax breaks for employee-owned car schemes.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “With used EV uptake at a record high, a robust used car market is essential for fleet renewal, and helps make electrified mobility more accessible for more motorists.
“Britain needs fiscal policy that promotes rather than prevents economic growth, social mobility and decarbonisation.”
The Government has not yet confirmed the pay-per-mile proposals but said it wanted “a fairer system for all drivers whilst backing the transition to electric vehicles”.
“It is right to seek a tax system that fairly funds roads, infrastructure and public services,” a spokesman said last week.
Petrol and diesel cars continue to account for the biggest proportion of used car sales by far, making up 89.2pc of transactions in the third quarter.
That was down from 91.6pc a year earlier but the overall number of sales rose slightly, to just over 1.8 million.
Hybrids made up 6.5pc of sales, followed by EVs at 4pc.
However, there are signs that drivers are also holding on to cars longer as vehicles become gradually more expensive.
According to data from used car platform Auto Trader, the average price of a used car rose from £13,333 to £17,087 between October 2019 and October 2025.
At the same time, the SMMT said the average age of cars on UK roads was growing.
It currently stands at 9.5 years, up from eight in 2019.
2025-11-10T11:50:42Z