All the new driving laws coming into force from TODAY
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New driving laws come into force today which will mean hitting the road will cost more for some drivers, including those with electric cars. Private cars, public and heavy duty vehicles will all be tied by some form of legislation, with excise duty and tachograph rules set to be extended. The changes are likely to mean that drivers on major roads will feel much safer in the long run, and emissions will be kept in check.
One of the most significant changes for 2025 will see congestion charge exemptions for electric and hydrogen-fuelled cars expiring. The rule applies to London's congestion charging zone (CCZ) which costs around £15 a pop to enter. Electric vehicle owners will start paying a higher band vehicle excise duty, the feared "car tax" by April 1 next year. Car owners currently pay around £190 per year, while vans pay £335 a year and cars and motorcycles pay a substantially smaller sum of around £25 per year. All electric cars registered on April 1, 2025 or after will pay £10 for the first year instead of the £0 paid under the last financial year.
Owners of cars registered around this time will need to pay the Expensive Car Supplement provided the vehicles came at a list price of more than £40,000. The supplement was previously not required, and currently costs £410. Benefit in Kind (BiK) is the rated tax paid by drivers when they buy a car through their company's salary sacrifice scheme. The tax acts like vehicle excise duty, given its dependence on car CO2 emissions.
