UK drivers in age divide over new EV mile tax
15 October 2026
A generational and gender divide has been revealed amongst UK drivers faced with their Government’s plans to charge Electric Vehicle drivers extra to help replace the lost fuel tax as petrol and diesel sales fall.
A national survey of 1,000 UK drivers by Find Out Now for CTEK found many younger drivers favour congested road tolls whilst older generations prefer the Government’s announced plan for pay-per-mile charges from 2028 called eVED (Electric Vehicle Excise Duty).
Younger drivers aged from 18 to 39 were most likely to opt for congested road tolls, whilst more older drivers 55 years and above chose pay-per-mile.
Pay per mile not welcome by young drivers
CTEK’s Stefan Gabrielsson said: “These revealing results show younger drivers do not favour what the UK Government intends to do, which is raise around £1.2 billion in its first year by charging per mile driven in fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
“Younger drivers include those embarking on careers and beginning to raise their own families. They probably fear the extra costs of pay-per-mile when there will be so many other demands on their household budgets and a lot of reasons to be driving more and more miles per year.
“Older drivers, in contrast, perhaps favour the certainty of pay-per-mile and expect to be driving fewer miles as they head into retirement from work and enjoy a more leisurely way of living.”
A turn off for female drivers
The plans for eVED also generated a gender divide in CTEK’s survey of UK drivers. Of those expressing an opinion, 36 percent of male drivers opted for pay-per-mile but only 26 percent of female drivers. Tolls on busy and congested roads were favoured by female drivers (31 percent), but only 17 percent of male drivers chose that.
Stefan said: “The UK Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that around 120,000 fewer EVs will be sold due to eVED and other budget measures. Governments everywhere must do all they can to encourage EV switching in other ways, including by making public charging clearly cheaper than fossil fuels.”
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