You’ve probably already blocked it out from your mind, but chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget news is now over a month old, enough time for the MCIA to consider its implications.
The MCIA kicks off with a small piece of positive news: there’s been no announcement of a per-mile charge for motorcycles as outlined for electric cars. Under the budget plans, four-wheeled EV drivers will have to pay 3p per mile to help offset the loss of motor vehicle fuel excise duties.
The first concern raised by the MCIA is the Expensive Car Supplement on zero-emission cars. The cap has been raised to £50k for cars, but stays at £10k for bikes, further undermining an already moribund premium battery bike sector. Also, on the EV front, the government extended its electric car grant scheme to 2030, but said nothing about the plug-in motorcycle grant programme.
The MCIA also outlined the broader economic changes: frozen tax thresholds, investment in youth training, skills and apprenticeships, infrastructure investment, and business and innovation support.
Summing the budget up, the MCIA says: “We will be intensifying engagement across Treasury, DfT, DBT and Number 10, particularly on securing equitable support for low and zero emission motorcycles. We will continue to demonstrate the strategic role of the sector as efficient, low and zero-emission urban mobility with significant congestion reduction benefits and lower environmental footprint compared with cars.
“We fully recognise the importance of ensuring our sector is treated fairly in the transition to zero-emission mobility. While some budget measures are directed at cars, they create powerful precedents and opportunities for our industry. We are working proactively – and with urgency – to ensure that motorcycles are never disadvantaged by car-centric policy and that fiscal measures support, rather than hinder, the adoption of low and zero emission L-category vehicles.”