Fuel duty freeze

We welcome the news that the fuel duty freeze planned for September will remain in place. However, an actual cut would have helped alleviate the pressures on British businesses and it remains as prudent as ever for fleets to adopt a robust fuel management policy.

Vehicle Excise Duty / Roads Fund

The adoption of a new system to take into effect new low emission vehicle technologies was somewhat predictable. The new rates mean that zero emission vehicles will continue to gain from not paying VED but there will be increased charges for low emission vehicles. For companies, the cost and emissions benefits of such vehicles render it still worthwhile to explore their place on the fleet. The increased charges for premium vehicles will also need to be taken into effect in whole-life costs.

Meanwhile the implementation of a new roads fund that will put the VED funds to good effect from the next decade can only benefit companies and help improve driver downtime.

We also look forward to hearing more on the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy due by the end of this Parliament, building on the first published in December 2014.

MoTs

The news that the Government will consult on extending the MoT deadline for new cars and motorbikes from three years to four years will help fleets that have moved to longer replacement cycles in recent years but will mean that they will need to keep a firm eye on vehicle maintenance and risk management issues.