FIAT Launches 500e, UK Tax Breaks For EV’s To End In 2025
FIAT aims to be one at the entry point of EV ownership in the US, and the UK ends tax breaks for EV’s far too early according to Ford.
As EV prices seem to get more and more lofty, there’s an open opportunity for those in the entry-level market. FIAT sees this opportunity as a way to reinvigorate the 500 in the good ole USA. Thankfully, the details on this car aren’t scarce, as it’s been on sale overseas for a while. So we can expect almost an identical car. According to FIAT‘s UK website, the car will have a stout 200 mile range.
That’s actually quite impressive given the size of the car and the limited space for a battery. It’ll also likely have “Assisted Driving Level 2” features which aren’t spelled out as ‘autonomous’ but get fairly close. Think Cadillac Super Cruise. Pricing isn’t announced yet either, but in the UK they start at about the equivalent of $35,000. But that could change dramatically as FIAT introduces the 500e in Q1 of 2024.
UK ditches Vehicle Excise Duty for EVs, essentially cutting incentives to be an electric early adopter.
It’s no surprise that many countries are enacting a hard deadline for manufacturers to offer only battery powered cars for sale. 2035 is the industry standard for a number of nations. But manufacturers in the UK won’t have much help in convincing the public to go electric. A recent meeting of G7 nations revealed that the UK is planning on instating the Vehicle Excise Duty on electric cars.
Essentially, it’s the UK’s version of the tax rebates that many American customers receive for an electric vehicle purchase. Ford UK chairman Tim Slatter has said “the announcement by the government to impose VED for electric vehicles from 2025 is a short-sighted move. We are still many years from the ‘tipping point’ when electric vehicles will reach cost parity with petrol and diesel vehicles.” He continues to pint out that commercial vehicles are even slower to adopt EV powertrains. This move still doesn’t stop the implementation of the internal combustion engine ban for 2035, but it does make the switch to EV more of a forced move than a gentle nudge.