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  "path": "/lifestyle/cars/rachel-reeves-car-tax-hybrid-drivers-electric",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-25T09:06:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Young drivers targeted in new road safety crackdown as fatality risk soars",
    "Older motorists may have to 'stop driving altogether' ahead of new eye test rules",
    "Labour refuses to 'confirm or deny' emergency meetings amid fears of 'mass purchasing of fuel'",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nRachel Reeves is under growing pressure after new plans to tax hybrid drivers were pushed ahead, despite official evidence showing they rarely use electric power.\n\nUnder Labour's proposals announced at the Autumn Budget, plug-in hybrid motorists will be charged a new pay-per-mile tax from April 2028, as part of a wider shake-up of car taxes.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAs part of the new policy, drivers will pay 1.5p per mile, even though most of their journeys are not powered by electricity.\n\nBut the move has sparked anger, with critics warning drivers are being hit twice, once through fuel duty and again through the new mileage charge.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe controversy deepened after the Government quietly admitted it had overestimated how often hybrids run on battery power.\n\nIn a Department for Transport report, officials explained: \"Evidence indicates that PHEVs complete a smaller proportion of their journeys in electric mode than previously assumed.\"\n\nDespite that admission, ministers are still pressing ahead with the new tax, known as Electric Vehicle Excise Duty.\n\nThe scheme sits at the heart of Ms Reeves's plans to overhaul motoring taxes and plug a looming hole in the public finances as fuel duty revenues fall.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nIn its own consultation, HM Treasury made clear that the aim is to make all drivers pay more based on how far they travel.\n\nThe document stated: \"All drivers should contribute to account for the wear and tear on our roads.\"\n\nIt added that the current system is unfair because electric drivers do not pay fuel duty, warning: \"If we do nothing, then by 2030 around one in five car drivers are expected to pay no fuel duty at all.\"\n\nUnder the plans, fully electric drivers will pay 3p per mile, while hybrid drivers will pay half that rate. But crucially, hybrid motorists will still pay fuel duty when using petrol, something critics warned undermines the fairness of the argument.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Young drivers targeted in new road safety crackdown as fatality risk soars\n  * Older motorists may have to 'stop driving altogether' ahead of new eye test rules\n  * Labour refuses to 'confirm or deny' emergency meetings amid fears of 'mass purchasing of fuel'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne driver warned that the policy \"feels like double taxation\".\n\n\"While there is logic in pure EVs having a charge per mile, I struggle with hybrids such as my Land Rover Defender P400 paying a charge on total mileage,\" he told The Telegraph.\n\nHe shared: \"It has a maximum electric range of 26 miles.\"\n\n\"I already pay full road tax of £620 a year and fuel duty on the vast majority of my mileage, so the Government's argument makes little sense and feels like double taxation.\"\n\nPlug-in hybrids typically have an electric range of between 15 and 60 miles, far below the 300 miles or more offered by fully electric cars. As a result, many drivers rarely charge them or rely on electric functions.\n\nThe Government has also ruled out tracking how much of each journey is done using petrol or electricity, arguing it would be too complicated.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nInstead, ministers explained how a flat-reduced rate for hybrids would be the best compromise.\n\nThe Treasury insisted this approach balances fairness with simplicity, stating it will avoid \"a whole new tax system\" and \"protect motorists' privacy\".\n\nDrivers will be required to estimate their annual mileage, pay upfront or monthly, and then reconcile the figure at the end of the year. Mileage will be checked through MOT tests and official records.\n\nThe Government argued the policy is necessary to protect tax revenues, with fuel duty expected to fall sharply as more drivers switch to electric vehicles.\n\nAccording to Treasury figures, fuel duty currently raises around £24billion a year but could drop to roughly £12billion by the 2030s.\n\nThe consultation warned that losing this income would be \"fiscally irresponsible\" and that replacement taxes are needed to avoid spending cuts or rises elsewhere.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Rachel Reeves car tax raid sees hybrid drivers hit twice despite 'barely using electric'"
}