Drivers of these petrol cars to see road tax rise from £10 to £110 in April

Drivers planning to buy a new plug-in hybrid are set to face a £110 tax bill from April 2025 (Image: Getty)

Drivers who are thinking of buying a certain type of vehicle are being urged to do so now before the price rises surges to a major change to vehicle excise duty (VED), better known as road tax.

From April 1, the DVLA are set to make a number of changes to how much drivers are charged to tax their vehicle, particularly if they are interested in buying a new model.

Tom Banks, car insurance expert at the price comparison service Go.Compare, noted that changes to the tax bands for new models will see drivers pay significantly more for their next car.

He explained: "The increased VED rates mean most new car buyers will be paying a lot more than they were expecting in 2025. If you live in a region where buyers tend to go for high CO2 cars, then drivers in your area will be the most impacted by the rise."

However, whilst the changes are designed to encourage drivers to choose a more environmentally friendly vehicle, cleaner models will also see tax rises.

The change will see tax on all plug-in hybrids, like the popular Volvo XC60, increase elevenfold (Image: Getty)

Like all new vehicles sold since 2017, drivers will need to pay an amount that reflects the amount of carbon dioxide it produces per kilometre, with bands ranging from zero to more than 255.

For example, motorists planning to buy a new plug-in hybrid car, which typically produce between one to 50g/km of CO2, will see their tax bill rise from £10 to £110 overnight.

Whilst the figure is still nowhere near the highest amount new car buyers could be subject to paying, with vehicles making more than 255g/km of CO2 subject to an eye-watering £5,490 fee, the change represents an elevenfold increase.

Electric cars will also be subject to road tax, paying the same £195 charge as petrol car owners (Image: Getty)

The tax change will also see the end of the £10 annual discount that hybrid owners can currently benefit from, which helped to slash the cost of road tax from the second year onwards.

As a result, plug-in and self-charging hybrid owners will now need to pay the same flat rate of £195 per year as a petrol or diesel model if the car was built after April 2017, or a figure depending on its emissions output for older hybrids.

However, drivers looking to postpone the tax increase for another 12 months should check if they are able to tax their vehicle before April 1, 2025, with the DVLA allowing motorists to pay the fee up to two months in advance.

Finally, April 1 is also set to be an unpleasant day for more than a million electric car owners on the UK roads, with the current tax exemption ending.

A measure introduced nearly 15 years ago to encourage sales, the rising number of EVs on the roads means drivers will need to pay £10 to tax a brand new model and £195 for each year afterwards.

Whilst the change is necessary, with the Government hoping to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, a date which could be brought forward to 2030 once again, some have criticised the sharp increase.