Drivers are being urged to be aware of a raft of new rules, costs and regulations that are set to come into effect in the coming days, including new number plates and fuel rates
UK drivers are being warned to brace themselves for potential cost increases as a slew of new regulations and charges come into effect this week. Starting from March 1, several changes in motoring rules will be rolled out that motorists need to be aware of to avoid unexpected expenses or penalties.
The HMRC has announced the latest Advisory Fuel Rates, which will come into force from Saturday, March 1, bringing changes to company car rates. These rates, set quarterly by HMRC, are used to calculate reimbursements for employees who use company cars for business trips.
For diesel cars with engines up to 1,600cc, the rate will rise from 11 to 12 pence per mile (ppm). Meanwhile, petrol vehicles with engine sizes between 1,401-2,000cc will see rates increase from 14ppm to 15ppm.
However, it’s not all bad news for electric vehicle owners, as the advisory fuel rate for these vehicles will remain at just seven ppm. This lower cost is calculated using data from the Department for Energy and Net Zero.
These changes will take effect on Saturday, March 1, but previous rates can still be used for up to one more month. At the same time, the new ’25’ number plates will be introduced for newly-registered cars in the UK, indicating that the vehicle was registered on or after 1 March 2025, reports Gloucestershire Live.
If you’re mulling over the idea of a personalised number plate, get clued up on the rules that govern them. Falling foul of these strict regulations could land you with a £1,000 fine and see your prized plate confiscated without any compensation.
One key rule is that drivers are not allowed to display a number plate that suggests their vehicle is newer than it actually is. For instance, a car registered new on 2 March 2015 could have a number plate with ’15’ as its third and fourth characters.
But it would be against the law to display numbers like 16, 17, 18, and so on. New number plates are released twice a year, in March and September.
The second batch of plates starts with a seven, meaning this year’s will feature ’75’ as the third and fourth characters. The same rule about not implying a newer vehicle applies here too.
There are also strict guidelines around the shape, font, colour, and visibility of a vehicle’s number plate on UK roads. The DVLA provides up-to-date rules and even a personalised plate finder to help drivers steer clear of breaking the regulations.
In other motoring news, from 1 April, all electric vehicle owners will be hit with a higher band of vehicle excise duty – or car tax as it’s commonly known. This will amount to an extra £10 in the first year for cars registered after this date.
Despite the hike, it’s still considerably lower than the standard annual rates for other vehicles. These are £190 for cars, £335 for vans and £25 for motorcycles.
However, starting from April, owners of electric vehicles valued over £40,000 will also be subject to the Expensive Car Supplement, a charge that other car types have been paying since 2017. This is an additional flat-rate fee on top of car tax, set at £195 in 2025.
The standard cost of car tax from April 2025 is £195. Hybrid cars receive a slight discount (£10), but if your vehicle had a list price exceeding £40,000 when it was first sold, you may also be liable for the ‘luxury car tax’ fee, which adds £425 to the vehicle’s annual VED costs.
