According to research from online used car retailer cinch, electric vehicle (EV) owners in the UK saved a potential £47,696,610 by renewing their Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) before the Government’s new road tax regulations came into effect on 1st April 2025.
The new VED regulations introduced on 1st April 2025 meant electric cars had to pay road tax for the first time.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request was submitted to the Driver & Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) to uncover the number of EV drivers that renewed their road tax in March 2025 compared to March 2024.
Road tax was renewed for 244,598 electric cars across the UK in March this year, a 1,467% increase compared to the 15,614 renewals in March 2024.
Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at cinch, said: “Such a big increase in renewals shows just how many EV drivers might have got themselves another year of road tax-free motoring, and who wouldn’t want to save £195 if they had the chance?”
The data also showed the areas with the highest increase in electric car road tax renewals in March this year compared to last.
The BA postcode (Bath) was the clear front-runner, with a 14,534% increase in EV road tax renewals in March 2025 compared to the same period just a year earlier.
The FK (Falkirk) postcode, with a 7,219% increase, and DL (Darlington) with 5,617% increase rounded out the top three, setting the tone for a top 10 that outpaced the national average.
The rest of the top 10 areas included West London, Birmingham, North West London, Guilford, Bolton, Leeds and Derby.
The highest potential savings by renewing EV VED in March 2025 had Bath in first place, at £4,137,900.
B (Birmingham) and W (West London) postcodes were in second and third with £2,289,690 and £2,236,260 respectively.
Sheehan said: “It goes to show how savvy EV drivers were ahead of the road tax changes – and how useful consumer advice led to savings for so many people.”
The remaining postcodes with the highest potential savings were Guilford, Glasgow, Leeds, Falkirk, Milton Keynes, Leicester and Derby.
While EVs registered before 31st March 2025 were eligible for one final year of tax-free driving if renewed early, all electric vehicles now face new charges.
