UK Budget 11 March 2020 - VAT Change?

[Durzel]

There’s rumblings of a 0.25% base rate cut and possibly even a 2.5% cut in VAT, the latter would cost the government approx £10bn in available public spending. The former seems certain but the latter would be a bold move.

Tomorrow will definitely be interesting, but whatever happens I presume it would be too late to affect outstanding March deliveries.

I calculated that a VAT cut starting 01/04 would cost me ~£1339 on my order

 

[DaddyCool]

VAT was introduced to help finance joining something called the European Union (you may have heard of it recently) it would be nice to just abolish VAT (aye right) now no longer part of EU in 2021

 

[audigex]

Why should the government support the charging infrastructure?
Tesla have demonstrated that a small manufacturer can successfuly deploy a reliable international charging network without subsidy or incentives.

I’ll consider agreeing with this sentiment once there is a supercharger within a 90 minute drive of my home...

 

[seesee]

VAT was introduced to help finance joining something called the European Union (you may have heard of it recently) it would be nice to just abolish VAT (aye right) now no longer part of EU in 2021

Indeed -- VAT (levied at 10%) replaced "Purchase Tax", which at the time was 33.3% (albeit inconsistently applied).

So maybe we can go back to the good old days of paying even more tax on our things!

 

[Mr Miserable]

I’ll consider agreeing with this sentiment once there is a supercharger within a 90 minute drive of my home...

You shouldn't need to use a supercharger within 90 minute drive of your home.
You charge at home and use the superchargers when you 'are on the road'
And then it is 'splash and dash' ie charge from 20-60% and then on to the next supercharger.

 

[audigex]

You shouldn't need to use a supercharger within 90 minute drive of your home.
You charge at home and use the superchargers when you 'are on the road'
And then it is 'splash and dash' ie charge from 20-60% and then on to the next supercharger.

Not everyone has home charging. I will, but many people can’t.

But also, what happens if a family member falls ill and I was planning to charge that night? 10-15 minutes at a supercharger is fine, 5 minutes at a petrol station is ideal... 40 minutes at a supermarket isn’t. I know that isn’t the day to day use case, but emergencies happen and it’s nice to have the option

Also, although the nearest supercharger is 90 miles away, there isn’t one on my most common 100 mile journey: so there’s no option to supercharge in the 200 mile round trip

I don’t think superchargers should be the day to day normal charge option - but having one available would make a huge difference

 

[Mr Miserable]

Not everyone has home charging. I will, but many people can’t.

But also, what happens if a family member falls ill and I was planning to charge that night? 10-15 minutes at a supercharger is fine, 5 minutes at a petrol station is ideal... 40 minutes at a supermarket isn’t. I know that isn’t the day to day use case, but emergencies happen and it’s nice to have the option

Also, although the nearest supercharger is 90 miles away, there isn’t one on my most common 100 mile journey: so there’s no option to supercharge in the 200 mile round trip

I don’t think superchargers should be the day to day normal charge option - but having one available would make a huge difference

I buy that.

 

[rjjj]

You shouldn't need to use a supercharger within 90 minute drive of your home.
You charge at home and use the superchargers when you 'are on the road'
And then it is 'splash and dash' ie charge from 20-60% and then on to the next supercharger.

My 2p. I think where the govt stepping into charging infrastructure comes from personal experience. We only have street parking, so no way for me to charge at home. The reason I’ve been able to buy an M3 is because I can charge at work. Also, in a pinch there is a public charger (2 stalls) at my gym. Great, for now.

In an ideal world, we’d have public chargers in every residents street parking bay in the city, so everyone can charge overnight. So either a private company needs to win some kind of bid process to install chargers on public land, or govt infrastructure investment is needed to make that happen. And until it does, my neighbours, and thousands like them will not buy EV as they don’t have access to workplace charging.

 

[DaddyCool]

+1
Wonder how difficult it would be to adapt a lamp post?
Obvs the lamp posts right on the road side and not the other side of the footpath - although we may become a nation of hurdle jumpers if we did.

 

[WannabeOwner]

In an ideal world, we’d have public chargers in every residents street parking bay in the city, so everyone can charge overnight

We've dug up the street for sewerage, electricity, cable, fibre ... I don't see Street Chargers as being any different (except that with the former they could flog the option to 99% of people in the street, whereas Chargers will be "when I next replace my car" at earliest, so less incentive for private companies?). As always, tougher on the early adopters.

I'm full of praise for anyone without off road parking / home charging who chooses to buy EV at this time

Wonder how difficult it would be to adapt a lamp post?

Already in trials. I don't know how they have enough power at lampposts, maybe the replacement of Sodium with LCD has left enough "spare"?

 

[timpharrison]

There’s rumblings of a 0.25% base rate cut and possibly even a 2.5% cut in VAT, the latter would cost the government approx £10bn in available public spending. The former seems certain but the latter would be a bold move.

Tomorrow will definitely be interesting, but whatever happens I presume it would be too late to affect outstanding March deliveries.

I calculated that a VAT cut starting 01/04 would cost me ~£1339 on my order

If there is a VAT cut I would absolutely expect this to be reflected in my March order (picking up Monday). Otherwise I will cancel and reorder

 

[danny-85]

I ordered a M3 at the start of March and had this SMS from Tesla this week

Tesla Update: Your order is eligible for the Government's Plug-in Car Grant of GBP 3,500 which is reflected in your current pricing. As with all Government incentives, this is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed by Tesla in the event that the Government amends the incentive. To be in the best position to obtain the Grant, please ensure you complete your Tesla Account and, most importantly, confirm your financing method

Is this normal message to get from Tesla? I wondered if it was coincidental with the UK Budget this week

 

[SamBGB]

I would be very surprised if the £3500 grant was pulled at the moment to be honest.

 

[AnthonyLR]

I ordered a M3 at the start of March and had this SMS from Tesla this week

Tesla Update: Your order is eligible for the Government's Plug-in Car Grant of GBP 3,500 which is reflected in your current pricing. As with all Government incentives, this is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed by Tesla in the event that the Government amends the incentive. To be in the best position to obtain the Grant, please ensure you complete your Tesla Account and, most importantly, confirm your financing method

Is this normal message to get from Tesla? I wondered if it was coincidental with the UK Budget this week

It's normal

 

[Durzel]

I would be very surprised if the £3500 grant was pulled at the moment to be honest.

I think it'll be reduced (again), or pegged to a maximum car value. £40k would make sense, in line with the luxury VED threshold. The Government is going to lose a lot of money in the short term dealing with Covid-19, this scheme will seem like a bit of a luxury at the moment.

 

[KennethS]

If there is a VAT cut I would absolutely expect this to be reflected in my March order (picking up Monday). Otherwise I will cancel and reorder

My very basic understanding is the seller collects VAT and passes it to the Government. If a change is implemented that no longer requires VAT be charged then I would expect any seller to adhere to the regulations at the time of sale.

 

[SamBGB]

"The government is considering the long-term future of incentives for zero emission vehicles alongside the 2040 phase-out date consultation. Until then, the government will provide £403 million for the Plug-in Car Grant, extending it to 2022-23."

 

[stonecoldrmw]

Straight from the BBC website:

£500m promised for car charging hubs


Mr Sunak has promised to spend £500m to support the rollout of new rapid charging hubs for electric cars, which he says will ensure that drivers are never more than 30 miles away from being able to charge their vehicle.

He says the government will also invest £300m in tackling nitrogen dioxide emissions in towns and cities across England.

"As well as taxing pollution – we will invest and cut taxes on clean transport," the chancellor says.

"We’re introducing a comprehensive package of tax and spend reforms to make it cheaper to buy zero or low emission cars, vans, motorbikes and taxis."

 

[Mark-R]

From the treasury website:

2.16 Reducing vehicle pollution
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure investment and review – The government will provide £500 million over the next five years for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This will include a Rapid Charging Fund to help businesses with the costs of connecting high-powered charge points to the electricity grid, where those costs would prevent private sector investment. To target spending from this fund effectively, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles will complete a comprehensive review of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This will build on the previous review announced in July 2019, extending its scope to cover the full Strategic Road Network and other strategic locations in cities and rural areas.

Consumer incentives for the purchase of ultra-low emission vehicles – The government is considering the long-term future of consumer incentives to support the transition to zero emission vehicles alongside the consultation on bringing forward the phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040. In the meantime, the government will provide £403 million for the Plug-in Car Grant, extending it to 2022-23. The government will also provide £129.5 million to extend the Plug-in Van Grant, Plug-in Taxi Grant, and Plug-in Motorcycle Grant to 2022-3. (35)

Air quality – The government will provide an additional £304 million to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions. This brings the total funding provided for local authorities to deliver their air quality plans to £880 million. (36)

 

[x-rm]

+1
Wonder how difficult it would be to adapt a lamp post?
Obvs the lamp posts right on the road side and not the other side of the footpath - although we may become a nation of hurdle jumpers if we did.

They are already doing this in Portsmouth (sorry if someone else has already said this - did not read the whole post)