But our own testing shows that this very much isn’t the case in the real world; official WLTP figures have frequently stated PHEVs are capable of over 300mpg, only for this to look more like 45-55mpg over several hundred miles once the battery has run dry. Indeed, new Euro 6e-bis regulations have now been designed to account for this, testing cars on a much longer 1,000-plus-mile cycle.
Not all cars have undergone this revised testing, though, so we’ve utilised our own real-world mpg data to see how much EV, petrol and PHEV drivers will really pay out to the Treasury per mile. EVs will, of course, be charged at a flat rate of three pence per mile, while ICE drivers will be charged at least 57.95 pence for every litre of petrol they purchase following the ‘unwinding’ of the five pence cut next year – and that’s assuming the base rate of fuel duty doesn’t increase, despite the Government saying it will. We’ve used this to calculate the cost per mile for petrol and PHEV cars, adding 1.5p per mile on for PHEVs due to eVED.
eVED vs fuel duty: real tax cost examples
| Real World Fuel Duty vs eVED | EV | Petrol | PHEV | Petrol | PHEV | Petrol | PHEV |
| Model | MG HS GS6 1.5 DCT | MG HS Plug-in Hybrid | Volkswagen Tiguan 1.5 eTSI | Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid 201 | Kia Sportage 1.6T GDi DCT | Kia Sportage Petrol Plug-in Hybrid | |
| MPG (Real-World Test Data) | 33.6 | 46.3 | 39.5 | 51.4 | 39.8 | 44.6 | |
| Tax pence per mile | 0.03 | 0.07827380952 | 0.07180345572 | 0.06658227848 | 0.06616731518 | 0.06608040201 | 0.07396860987 |
| Average annual cost (7,100 miles) | £213.00 | £555.74 | £509.80 | £472.73 | £469.79 | £469.17 | £525.18 |
As you can see, EV drivers paying eVED will pay less than half of what those with petrol cars will fork out in fuel duty. It’s a lot closer for plug-in hybrids, though, with the petrol model even paying less tax on one of our three examples. Of course, this doesn’t account for VAT paid on petrol/electricity, nor does it bear in mind the Benefit-in-Kind savings PHEV and EV company car drivers benefit from. However, it does highlight how running a plug-in hybrid as much as possible on electric power alone will be the key to saving money, and how the new system incentivises choosing a fully-electric car over a hybrid.
How will eVED pay-per-mile tax work?
How exactly the eVED pay-per-mile scheme will operate could change between now and its implementation in 2028, but the Government’s recent response following a consultation gives us at least some idea of how it will operate.
