The government is introducing a 10-year 100% business rates relief for electric vehicle (EV) charging points and EV-only forecourts.

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The scheme, unveiled as part of the Autumn Budget, includes plans to invest an extra £100m in EV charging infrastructure, including the installation of home and workplace charge points.

“Government has listened to our call to defer business rates on EV charging bays, heading off further costs for charge point operators and their customers,” said Vicky Read, chief executive of EV charging industry association ChargeUK.

“Funding to help local authorities work with our sector to deliver charging for their communities is also welcome. These inclusions send a strong signal to investors that this government intends to back the charging sector.”

She added: “But to build at the rate required and to deliver widespread and affordable charging for all drivers, we need government to go further.

“It has chosen not to act immediately on the sky-high energy costs that are pushing driver prices up today, despite promising to look at energy costs affecting other sectors. It has not abolished the VAT penalty for public charging, risking EVs becoming a luxury for those with driveways.”

The government is also introducing EV excise duty, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, with effect from April 2028.

Drivers will pay for their mileage on a per-mile basis alongside their existing vehicle excise duty. Electric cars will pay half the equivalent fuel duty rate for petrol and diesel cars.

Earlier this month, EV infrastructure operator Roam announced it had raised £65m to accelerate the rollout of its pipeline of 40,000 UK charging sites. Roam has already installed 3,000 UK charging points.