The Chancellor’s plans to tax electric car owners in two years’ time are already putting drivers off switching to EVs, research has found.

Thirty-one per cent of motorists say the proposed pay-per-mile tax has made them reconsider running a battery-powered car today, despite the scheme not coming into force until April 2028.

Rachel Reeves announced her electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) plans in the Autumn Budget.

They will see owners of fully electric cars pay 3p for every mile. Plug-in hybrid drivers will also be charged at a reduced rate of 1.5p per mile on top of the conventional fuel duty they pay on a litre of petrol, which by April 2028 will be 57.95p or higher.

The policy is part of the Chancellor’s bid to claw back lost fuel duty revenue as Britain moves to zero-emission vehicles — but experts warn it could strangle the transition to less polluting cars and make existing EV owners return to vehicles with combustion engines.

Of the 2,000 drivers surveyed by Confused.com, only 38 per cent of those who own an EV today said they will ‘definitely keep’ them once the tax comes into effect.

Pay-per-mile is predicted to raise £1.9 billion for the Government’s coffers by 2030. The loss of fuel duty is forecast to create a £40 billion black hole for the Treasury by the end of the decade.

In the poll, just 7 per cent said they are ‘unlikely’ to keep their EV once eVED is introduced. This means the vast majority — some 55 per cent — are sitting on the fence and will decide whether to continue owning an electric car once the tax system is in place.

Confused says ‘ditching’ EVs isn’t uncommon, as 5 per cent of EV owners have decided to switch back to a petrol, diesel or hybrid car in the past — largely due to the inconvenience of charging.

For those who cover 10,000 miles a year, eVED will add another £300 to their annual motoring bills.

Last month, analysis by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) warned that Reeves’ tax sting will weigh heaviest on those least able to absorb it, creating a ‘postcode penalty’ for the poorest regions of the country.

EV drivers in areas with little to no public transport — often with lower incomes — will face the steepest bills, with some paying up to £267 on top of the £200-a-year standard VED rate, it said.

With higher insurance premiums and rising charging costs already biting, the added levy risks piling further pressure on households switching to electric.

BVRLA chief executive Toby Poston said the policy ‘may appear fair on paper’, but in reality ‘falls hardest on the drivers least able to avoid it’.

EV advocates believe EVs will still be more cost-effective to run when eVED charges are introduced, with drivers of petrol and diesel cars also paying VAT at 20 per cent on top of fuel duty.

As such, around 60 per cent of what drivers pay at the pumps goes to the Treasury.

A recent report by Auto Trader and Zapmap found that EV owners are saving around £980 a year in charging costs compared with fuel bills for a traditional combustion engine car.

EV charging per annum is estimated at £680, based on 80 per cent being done at home and 20 per cent on the move. A similar petrol car driver would pay £1,660 at the pumps.

Meanwhile, Auto Trader says the average EV has been cheaper to buy than the average petrol car for two consecutive months, after discounts and the Government’s Electric Car Grant made battery-powered models more attainable.

Yet drivers told Confused.com that the purchase cost of an electric car is still a major barrier: over two-thirds of drivers have found that EVs are too expensive to buy.

Over a third of the licence-holding panel surveyed said they are reluctant to switch because of a lack of charging points in their area.

Range anxiety remains a concern for many drivers, with 28 per cent saying insufficient range is a key reason for being put off buying EVs.

The research concluded that the average timeframe in which UK drivers expect to transition to EVs is now five years.

For 17 per cent of motorists, the ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 is likely to accelerate their purchasing decision.

However, for nearly one in three, lower EV pricing is what would encourage them to take the plunge and buy an electric car.

With 73 per cent of drivers currently driving a petrol car, Confused.com said the full switch to EVs is ‘still a long way off’.