-
Maintaining the current fuel duty rate and
investing in local roads more popular than a rate
cut
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Nine-in-10 against the mooted hike in fuel duty
at next week’s Budget
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41% would be more attracted to EVs if
government financial support increased
Six-in-10 UK drivers (59%) want the new Chancellor to
bolster spending on the country’s crumbling local road
infrastructure at next week’s Budget by ringfencing 2p from every
litre of petrol and diesel sold without increasing duty rates,
according to an RAC survey of 3,200
drivers.*
In fact drivers feel so strongly about the need to
increase spending on maintaining local roads that they would much
prefer the Chancellor kept fuel duty at the current level –
57.95p on every litre of fuel bought – than cut it, so long as a
proportion of it is reserved for fixing potholes and improving
the quality of roads that are under local councils’
control.
A quarter (26%) of motorists surveyed would like to
see fuel duty reduced by 2p to bring down pump prices, while any
increase in duty would prove extremely unpopular with just
one-in-10 (10%) in favour.
When it comes to what drivers expect the Chancellor
to do with fuel duty, rather than what they would like to see
happen, the figures are mixed. An almost-identical proportion
think he will put duty up (42%) as expect him to keep it at the
current level (41%), with few drivers (6%) expecting any form of
cut next week.
Motorists are also keen to see more financial support
to encourage them to switch to an electric model next time they
change their car. Four-in-10 (41%) said they would be more
attracted to electric vehicles if further funds were announced by
Chancellor in the Budget. As things
stand, the current Plug-in Car Grant – which provides up to
£3,500 off the list price of a new battery electric vehicle – may
not be extended at all after this year, ending the direct
financial support given to help drivers go electric. With the
high up-front cost of electric vehicles second only to concerns
about EV range on a single charge according to the RAC’s research
(28% say the former is their biggest concern, 31% the latter), it
is clear the Government needs to continue providing incentives
that will encourage more drivers to make the switch to an
electric model.
RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes said: “What the
Government decides to do with fuel duty is always the subject of
much speculation before each Budget, and this year is no
exception. But the Chancellor might be interested to discover
that more than twice the proportion of drivers want to see it
kept at its current level compared to those who want to see it
cut, so long as he commits to ring-fencing fuel duty to fix the
country’s local roads.
“The maintenance of England’s ‘strategic’ roads –
motorways and major A-roads – has guaranteed investment in the
form of the National Roads Fund, where part of the funds raised
through ‘car tax’ (vehicle excise duty) are ringfenced. But we’ve
said consistently that no such system exists to help better
maintain the thousands of miles of roads under local authority
control, which isn’t right given the importance of these roads.
With one of the wettest Februarys ever recorded fresh in the
minds of so many motorists, we’re concerned we’re on the verge of
yet more pothole misery come the Spring if action is not taken
soon.
“We believe the only hope for getting the UK’s local
roads up to a standard fit for the 21st century
is by ring-fencing a small proportion of the tax drivers already
have to pay every time they fill up – and from our survey it’s
clear most drivers agree. We really are hoping for some fresh
thinking on this from the Chancellor in his Budget.
“It’s also vitally important that the Chancellor
retains, or ideally improves upon, the financial support
available to make electric vehicles the first choice for drivers
when they next change their car. With a ban on the sale of petrol
and diesel cars coming by 2035 if not earlier, now is the time
for the Government to show motorists it is serious about helping
them make the switch – especially as the default option for so
many may be simply to stick with a new petrol or diesel vehicle,
or even not change their vehicle at all. Already more than
160,000 drivers have gone electric thanks to the Plug-in Car
Grant – but with 42m people holding a full driving licence in the
UK there remains a long way to go in encouraging many more of us
to make the switch.”
Ends
Notes to
Editors
* 3,200 drivers surveyed who are members of the
RAC Driver Opinion Panel. Survey completed February
2020
