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Fuel duty will continue to be frozen at the current rate for the next 12 months, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has announced in his Budget speech.
The measure involves the maintaining of the freeze on fuel duty which has been in place since 2011, and also the continuation of the 5p cut which was introduced in March last year.
Other measures announced during the speech included an extra £200million per year for pothole repairs, on top of the £500million in place previously.
Industry reaction to the Budget included praise for the fuel duty freeze - but also disappointment at a lack of new support for EVs.
Association of Fleet Professionals chair Paul Hollick said: "For fleets, this was a Budget more noteworthy for what it didn't include rather than what it did.
"We'd have liked to have seen measures announced ranging from the creation of an EV charging regulator through to national co-ordination on Clean Air Zones, as outlined in our recent tax and regulation manifesto. However, there was little content that showed the Government has been thinking about business road transport.
"The one bright point for fleets was the freeze in fuel duty. An increase of 11 pence per litre would've been extremely unwelcome at a point in time when the economy is struggling and removing that possibility is very much welcome.
"Further positives are difficult to identify but a recognition that more people need to be encouraged back into the workforce, through pension changes and childcare measures, could potentially help to a degree in a fleet sector where recruitment remains an issue."
Novuna Vehicle Solutions managing director Jon Lawes said: "The fuel duty freeze and continued 5ppl reduction will be critical in assisting the growth of business fleets across the UK. Without this action from the Chancellor today, fleet businesses would have faced significant operating costs this spring.
"The decision not to lower the VAT on public EV chargers or improve EV infrastructure, on the other hand, is disappointing. A VAT cut would level the playing field for those who are unable to charge their vehicles at home due to a lack of off-street parking or an inability to install a home charge point. Furthermore, with the current number of public charging stations unable to meet EV demand, implementing a plan to increase public chargers could have aided in overcoming some of the EV industry's challenges.
"The Chancellor should have taken more direct action on EV infrastructure today. The current system is unfit for 2030 goals and the industry has once again been left without a clear direction."
Lloyds Banking Group transport managing director Nick Williams said: "It's disappointing that today's statement from the Chancellor announced no new support to strengthen the UK's electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
"It remains impressive that electric vehicles are entering the roads at record rates, but to meet this growing demand we need a charging network that can deliver, both in terms of availability and reliability. To achieve this, rapid expansion will be key.
"With the upcoming Zero Emission Vehicle mandate also incentivising manufactures to bring more electric vehicles to the UK market, the call for an expanded charging network will be even greater, so the lack of support in today's statement is a big setback.
"We're hopeful that the government will reveal more plans ahead of its implementation next year, or we risk impacting the longer-term uptake of electric vehicles as confidence in our country's infrastructure waivers."
Vehicle Remarketing Association chair Philip Nothard said: "Really, what the remarketing sector is overwhelmingly looking for from the government after the events of the last few years - the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the domestic economic chaos we saw late last year - is a stretch of stability that allows the relative strength that we have seen in the used car and van sector to continue. The Budget probably delivers on that.
"For motorists in general, the freeze in fuel duty and additional help for potholes are both welcome while the childcare and pension measures designed to get people back into the workforce are good ideas which, given the labour shortages that we are seeing across remarketing, may have a positive effect.
"Finally, we have been highlighting the need for some form of support in the used market for electric vehicles and there was no news in that area today, but we remain hopeful that the government are listening to the points we are making and will take action relatively soon. This is something that is very much needed to ensure the smooth electrification of the used EV sector."
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