Motorists will be hit with a staggering new car tax fee in weeks (Image: Getty)
Almost every on UK roads will be slapped with an extra £425 due to widespread updates to .
From the spring, electric vehicles with owners set to similar to petrol and diesel owners.
However, there are concerns that many models will be caught out with Expensive Car Supplement (ECS)
The ECS charge is a hefty fee paid on for a period of up to five years.
The cost used to only apply to high-end luxury vehicles but the upfront cost of EVs is pushing many mid-market and family cars into trouble.
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The Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) fee will apply to all new electric cars (Image: Getty)
Analysis from has revealed just 19% of zero-emission cars currently cost less than £40,000.
It means a staggering four out of five EVs on UK roads will be liable to pay the rate within weeks.
Caroline Sandall-Mansergh, consultancy and channel development manager at Alphabet (GB), warned the fee was not an “insubstantial amount.”
Caroline warned that the new charge would likely impact anyone who is still deliberating over whether to make the switch to secure an EV with many likely to be put off.
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, Caroline said: “We could see really important EVs start to fall out of grade and, because we still don’t have enough EVs at the cheaper end of the scale, you’re then putting immediate pressure on the more populous grades within fleets.”
“The trouble is most companies are not going to be in a position to uplift grade allowances by £20 or £30 pounds a month, because everybody is in fairly sharp cost control measures.”
ECS charges will also have a major impact on the second-hand car market with fees carrying over to any following owners until it is paid off.
With ECS fees owed for a five-year spell between a vehicle’s second and sixth years on the road, many may be unaware of the hidden charges when agreeing on a deal for a second-hand motor.
Caroline added: “There will be cheaper EVs coming this year and next, and we will start to see more of a balance, and be in a position where we can directly compare all vehicles of all fuel and energy types.”
“But right now, we cannot do that. They are very, very different, and keeping it at £40,000 is harming the market at a time when we need as many measures to keep drawing people into EVs.”