Popular second-hand EVs can save their drivers £1,450 a year, despite new 3p per mile tax on EVs

Comment: New analysis finds UK’s most-viewed second-hand EVs on Autotrader can still save their owners around £1,450 a year on average.

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By Colin Walker

info@eciu.net

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Following the Government’s announcement of plans to introduce a 3p per mile tax on EVs in 2028, new analysis from the ECIU has found that the UK’s most-viewed second-hand EVs on Autotrader can still save their owners around £1,450 a year on average.
 
The analysis [1], which models ten years of second-hand ownership, including purchase cost and all running costs, looks at the most-viewed second-hand EVs of 2025.
 
This list consists mostly of larger EVs with high savings, such as the Jaguar i-Pace, Polestar 2, or Audi Q4 e-tron - but even smaller EVs on the list, such as the Nissan Leaf, can save their owners almost £700 per year. This is also true for other smaller EVs, with savings of £940 for the Renault Zoe, and £650 for the Kia Niro.
 
The analysis finds that these substantial savings are driven by significantly lower charging costs compared to petrol costs, and the fact that EVs have reached price parity with their petrol equivalents on the second hand market. [2] The sticker price of new EVs is falling and, at some point between 2026 and 2028, [3] new EVs are expected to be the same price as new petrol cars, as well as being much cheaper to run.
 
It comes on the back of the latest data from the SMMT [4] which finds that sales of second hand EVs in Q3 2025 grew by 44%, comfortably the highest rate of growth of all the other ‘drivetrains’ including petrol, diesel and hybrid.
 
Commenting, Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said:

“An ever-increasing number of savvy families are turning their backs on paying a ‘petrol premium’ to run their old cars, trading them in for second-hand EVs that can save hundreds, even thousands, of pounds a year.
 
“The mixed messages being sent to consumers by the Government’s introduction of a 3p per mile tax on EVs [5] is understandably causing concern, risks undermining consumer confidence, and could significantly slow the sale of new and used EVs. But it will not change the fact that second-hand EVs can deliver, and will continue to deliver, very significant savings to families across the country the moment they get their hands on the keys. 
 
“The Government’s recent weakening of its targets for new EV sales could encourage manufacturers to sell more plug-in hybrids - which burn 490% more fuel than their manufacturers claim [6] - and fewer EVs. This in turn could stifle the growth of the UK’s second-hand EV market, keeping many families back from being able to make the transition to cheaper and cleaner electric driving.
 
Recent analysis, based on the ten best-selling new EVs of 2024, shows that even with a 3p per mile tax, new EVs would still be around £1,000 cheaper to run per year than petrol cars. [7]

Notes to editors:
 

1. The analysis used a total cost of ownership (TCO) model covering 10 years from the date of second-hand purchase (typically around 4years old). The main driver of cost savings is the price of electricity versus petrol.  Electricity prices were projected to fall slightly this decade to 21p/kWh and then plateau; and petrol prices were projected to rise by about 3p/L each year, in line with the historical trend of the last twenty years. Sensitivity analysis shows that the results are similar for a range of price projections.   

2. Autotrader: https://plc.autotrader.co.uk/news-views/press-releases/retail-price-index-september-2024/ 

3. Climate Change Committee: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Progress-in-reducing-emissions-2025-report-to-Parliament.pdf  

4. SMMT: https://www.smmt.co.uk/used-ev-market-enjoys-record-uptake-as-one-in-25-buyers-switch-over-summer/ 

5. BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jw9l7gx92o 

6. T&E: https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/plug-in-hybrids-pollute-almost-as-much-as-petrol-cars-eu-data 

7. ECIU: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/snap-analysis-evs-still-1-000-cheaper-to-run-with-3p-mile-charge

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net