Electric car prices could skyrocket by £6,000 if Rishi Sunak isn’t able to strike a new deal with the European Union.
According to reports, industry bosses have warned there could be a price war on customers, threatening the UK’s climate change goals and the electric car market.
As a part of the UK’s latest row with the EU, Mr Sunak’s Government is trying to convince the European Commission to delay the introduction of new rules set to come into force in January 2024.
These new rules, which formed part of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal, require 45 percent of an electric car’s value to originate in the UK or EU to qualify for trade without tariffs.
If these new rules are brought in, it would see the price of brand-new electric cars skyrocket, making it harder for drivers to afford them and potentially devastate Britain’s car industry.
Speaking to the Independent, Mike Buckley said: “For the sake of our economy and our planet, the Government has a responsibility to get round the table with the EU, fix this, and fix the raft of other issues with the Brexit deal.”
Other experts have warned that the new rules pose an “existential threat” to sales and the fact very few domestic batteries meet the new rules.
As a result, campaigners are calling for the introduction of the tariffs to be pushed back to 2027.
Alongside the UK, the lobby group for the German car industry is also calling for the tariffs to be delayed. The VDA has said the tariffs would create a “significant competitive disadvantage” for European manufacturers in relation to their Chinese counterparts.
Director of International Trade at Make UK, Richard Rumbelow said: “Households could soon be paying thousands more for electric vehicles. It would be a devastating price war on consumers.
“It’s imperative that the Government gets round the table with the EU and sorts this situation as soon as it can.
“Industry needs assurance that it won’t be forced to make consumers pay even more, in these toughest of economic times.”
The urgent calls for changes to the Brexit deal come just weeks after Rishi Sunak announced the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was being pushed back to 2035.
The move has divided opinion as some drivers agree with the move due to criticisms of the charging infrastructure while businesses have criticised it after investing millions ahead of the ban.
Speaking to the Guardian, one driver said: “I cannot afford to buy a new car, but I’m determined not to buy another petrol vehicle.
“I have been running a 10-year-old Honda and planned to keep it for another few years until there are more second-hand EVs on the market. Sunak has betrayed us ‘hard-working British people’ who are intent on doing the right thing.”
Another driver took a different point of view and said Mr Sunak was “being pragmatic” and said the UK needed to “develop the infrastructure before we implement fully electric vehicles”.
