Electric cars are about to get a lot more expensive

The trouble is, there are serious problems with every alternative on offer. First, and most obviously, every additional charge is going to discourage drivers from making the switch. If people are required to pay an extra registration fee, or some form of pay-per-mile charge, then more drivers will stick with an old petrol or diesel model. The same is true of tariffs that push up the cost of buying the car in the first place. 

Next, many of the schemes are open to fraud and manipulation. In California, there is already widespread opposition to tracking devices that log every journey made, and it is hard to believe that some people won’t turn them off occasionally – even if by accident. 

Even on a modern software-packed car it may not be hard to hack a mileage counter, and avoid paying any significant charges. Unless there are cameras everywhere, as in Sadiq Khan’s London, it will be impossible to enforce charges.

In reality, the whole drive towards EVs is rapidly descending into a farce, even by the often comical standards of state-driven net zero policy. 

Governments have spent the last ten years massively subsidising electric cars, and are still pouring billions every year into grants and tax credits for manufacturers to build new battery plants and manufacturing hubs. And at the same time, taxes on EVs are being imposed, often at ever-increasing levels. It is a mess. 

So here’s a radical idea. Perhaps governments should make up their minds whether they want to switch to EVs or not, and if they do, they should at least create a coherent plan. And if they cannot decide whether they are a good thing or not, perhaps they should just leave it to consumers and manufacturers to work out whether they want them or not.