The BVRLA has given what it calls a “cautious welcome” to today’s Summer Budget, which included another freeze on fuel duty, a shakeup to the VED bands and potential changes to the MoT test.
“Motorists and businesses will benefit from the continued fuel duty freeze, but there is now a compelling case for the Government to go one-step further and provide a real stimulus to the UK economy by cutting fuel duty,” said BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney. “We welcome the commitment to maintain current VED revenues and invest the income on roads in the future, [but] we are concerned that the existence of two different VED bandings from 2017 could create extra complexity and cost for the fleet market,”
The BVRLA said it looks forward to the planned consultation on pushing car MoTs back by a year to when the vehicle is four years old, but it believes a discussion on vehicle testing is needed.
“Cars are more reliable than ever, but extending the first MOT deadline could pose safety issues for cars that are doing high mileages and aren’t serviced regularly. There could be a case for developing a time and mileage-based criteria for the first MOT,” said Keaney. “Vans are the fastest growing sector of the road transport sector and concerns over their first-MOT pass rate mean that the government did the right thing in excluding them from this proposal.”
The BVRLA also welcomed the change in Corporation tax rates: “This will help safeguard the UK’s economic growth by making the country a more attractive place to invest in, and may help offset the absence of 100% first year allowances for companies renting or leasing low-emission vehicles,” Keaney said.