Forget emissions, tax cars on weight for a fairer, progressive system in 2025 that’s better for everyone
Does the UK's VED road taxing system need a revamp? Alastair Crooks shares his thoughts on the subject...
A fascinating development came about in the latter stages of 2024 – residents in Geneva voted to implement a tax on electric cars based on weight.
I know, Switzerland taxing cars isn’t exactly shock news, but it does pose an interesting question on whether lighter cars should be created for the benefit of the environment, let alone our over-used, under-maintained roads – most of which were not designed for the likes of a Kia EV9 or BMW i7.
I’m not saying Geneva’s new taxation system is an appropriate response to portly EVs, but we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of lightweight pure-electric cars – and their inherently better efficiency and/or production costs – with the likes of the Citroen e-C3 and Dacia Spring.
Arguably this is something that should have been the foundation of many car manufacturers’ transformation to electrification.
It doesn’t have to restrict us to buying supermini-sized EVs either. The returning Vauxhall Frontera is a bona fide C-segment SUV (despite its cut-price £23,495 entry point) and has more than enough room for most families, while weighing just over 1,500kg.
And electric cars are, of course, not the only offenders here. Internal-combustion engined models have been getting heavier for decades (see the latest 2,510kg BMW M5) so the same rules should apply to them.
The fact that generally better driving dynamics would come about as a result is a lucky coincidence – not to mention that my sub-tonne Toyota MR2’s tax rate would be slashed…
Is a weight-based tax system the way to go? Share your thoughts in the comments section below...
