Treasury drops plan to force new EVs to have mileage checks for pay per mile tax

Nick Connor, chief executive officer at the Institute of the Motor Industry, said: “The consultation outcome shows the government has genuinely listened to the automotive profession.

“Ruling out mandatory telematics, building eVED into the existing VED and DVLA systems, anchoring mileage validation in the MOT, and committing to simple reconciliation and sensible arrangements for fleets and lifecycle events are all things the IMI called for. That is a pragmatic foundation, and we welcome it.

“However, there is one big question the response does not yet answer: can eVED be delivered safely and consistently if the system assumes every MOT garage can deal with EV mileage anomalies?

“The risks around odometer tampering, mileage data being held in more than one place in a vehicle, and the central role MOT garages will play in recording mileage have been recognised in the consultation response, yet there is no clear plan of how those risks will be managed on the workshop floor.

“Diagnostic capability varies significantly across the MOT network. Reading a dashboard odometer is one thing; investigating a disputed, missing or potentially tampered mileage reading on an electric vehicle is quite another.

“We are, therefore, urging government to adopt a number of practices we proposed in our submission to the consultation. There needs to be clear diagnostic escalation routes, competence-based accreditation and standards aligned with IMI TechSafe.

“There also needs to be a clear commitment to support garages on equipment and training. Without these, disputes will fall inconsistently on garages, motorists and the DVLA, and public confidence in the new tax will suffer.”