Fleet and driver focus - autumn budget and spending review

Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review on 27 October, Arval UK Consulting has drawn out the key elements for fleets and drivers below.

• Fuel duty remains frozen at 57.95 pence per litre UK wide for 2022-23, providing a welcome respite for drivers in the current fuel price environment
• Benefit in kind taxation (BIK) remains unchanged (vis-à-vis previously announced rates) until 2025, helping fleets and drivers to plan for the next three financial years
• The government will update VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) from 1 April 2022
• As expected, for company vehicles, from 6 April 2022, the van benefit charge and the car and van fuel benefit charges will increase in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

To support the government’s commitment to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030 and all new diesel vehicles by 2040:

• Helping the transition to electric vehicles, £620 million of additional investment will be made on top of the £1.9 billion committed at the 2020 spending review. This new funding will be spent on public charge points in residential areas and targeted plug-in vehicle grants
• Additionally, capital support will increase to £817 million over the spending review 2021 period for the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains. This will ensure the automotive sector is globally competitive and at the forefront of the transition to net zero
• £140 million of support for hydrogen producers was committed over the spending review period

To provide greater resilience for supply chains:

• Cabotage rules (covering the transport of goods or passengers) are relaxing temporarily for international HGV journeys within Great Britain
• HGV vehicle excise duty (VED) is also freezing and they are suspending the HGV road user levy for another 12 months from August 2022

Following this update if you have any questions or if you’d like to discuss electrification and zero emission mobility please get in touch.

Photo by Paul Buffington on Unsplash