Tories spark rumours of heavy car tax in Labour budget - here’s what it could cost

As cars have been getting heavier and heavier, the idea of taxing particularly weighty vehicles has come up a few times. It might be about to get very real, with the Conservative Party claiming that Chancellor John Healey may be bringing in such a levy in the next budget on 28 October 2026.

Confusingly, it’s size rather than weight that Tory transport spokesman Richard Holden brought up when speaking to the Daily Mail. “It seems like Labour is preparing to hit drivers with yet another tax at the Budget by measuring the width of people's wing mirrors and sending them a bill for the size.”

The same Mail report brings up Transport & Environment’s (T&E) lobbying for a tax on larger vehicles based on weight. Last year, the clean energy group, which is said to have had “productive” meetings with treasury officials, proposed a tax of £10 per kilogram on petrol and diesel cars weighing more than 1,600kg and electric cars over 2,000kg. It would be based on kerb weight and applied as a one-off tax at the point of purchase. 

Such a tax would hit relatively modest-sized cars along with larger SUVs, particularly plug-in hybrids, for which T&E’s proposal doesn’t make allowances. Many EVs would also be hit by the tax. A document released by the organisation gives several examples of potential tax amounts for popular vehicles: 

• BMW iX - £5,610  
• BMW X5 PHEV - £9,050 
• Land Rover Defender - £7,540 
• Nissan Ariya - £1,200 
• Renault Captur PHEV £280 
• Ford Kuga - £1,120

The report noted that many European countries tax vehicles significantly more than the UK. Combatting what it refers to as an “undertaxing” could raise nearly £2 billion a year.

Such a levy would also add a good chunk to the price paid for the heaviest cars on sale, but as they’re all quite expensive in the first place, the percentage on top of the purchase price for each example isn’t actually that big. For the five bulkiest EVs and five chunkiest ICE models available currently, it’d look like this: 

Electric

• Mercedes G580 EQ Technology - £11,600
• Mercedes EQS 580 SUV - £11,070
• Rolls-Royce Spectre II Black Badge - £7,950
• Bentley Torcal - £7,950
• Range Rover Electric - £7,350

ICE

• Ineos Grenadier diesel Trialmaster X - £12,160
• Mercedes-Maybach GLS 580 - £12,100
• Rolls-Royce Cullinan II Black Badge - £11,300
• BMW XM 50e - £11,000
• Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid Speed - £10,480

There is obviously no official word on whether or not a heavy car tax will appear in the budget but it’s an idea that has surfaced regularly over the years. We’ll be watching closely on the 28th to bring you the news on what is announced. 

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