The Lib Dems say they will make it “cheaper and easier to switch to electric vehicles” by bringing back the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and small vans.
They will roll-out more recharging infrastructure – both on-street and ultra-fast chargers at service stations – and require all charging points to be bank card payment compatible.
VAT on public charging will be slashed to 5 per cent – something the EV sector has been lobbying for.
The EV plug-in car grant will be re-introduced. The Tories stopped this in June 2022 but it has been called for by the auto industry as the price differential between petrol/diesel vehicles and EVs remains high.
On car insurance, Liberal Democrats will “protect motorists from unfair insurance”, though no further details were given.
The party also committed to protecting motorists from rip-off petrol prices, investigating fuel prices and
looking at the disparity between wholesale prices falling and the lag until these are reflected at the pump. It will also help rural drivers through the Rural Fuel Duty Relief, cutting 5p a litre from pump prices.
One final point the other parties have not covered: the Lib Dems will keep DVLA services available at Post Office counters.
These are due to expire April 2025, which would mean everyone renewing driving licences and buying road tax , for example, has to do it online.
What others said…
The RAC “welcomes promises of more money for local road maintenance, ensuring fuel prices are fair and additional support for the transition to electric vehicles” but calls out the “lack of clear spending allocation”.
Its transport & environment UK policy manager Matt Finch said the Lib Dems are “the only party to see that an upgraded national electricity grid comes hand in hand with improving the nation’s charging infrastructure for electric vehicles”.
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