What Does Philip Hammond’s Budget Mean for the Automotive Industry?

Normally, the only budget that our dealers are interested in is what their customers have at their disposal to spend on a used car! But yesterday there was a man walking out of 10 Downing Street with a little red box containing lots of information that will directly affect the whole of the automotive industry for years to come.

There were several impactful announcements concerning the motor industry in yesterday’s Budget delivered by Chancellor Philip Hammond but what exactly does it all mean?

Here, Click breaks the important bits down into digestible chunks:

Air Quality – The government will consult on an in-depth draft plan in the near future which will outline just how they plan to achieve the UK’s air quality goals. As part of its commitment to improving air quality the establishment intends to take a closer look at tax treatment for diesel vehicles, with changes penciled in for an announcement in the autumn.

Corporation Tax – The main rate will be reduced from 20% down to 19% in April of this year before being further decreased to 17% in 2020/21.

Driverless Car Technology – There will be a large investment of £270 million to ensure that the UK remains a leader in the development of ‘disruptive technologies,’ this includes biotech systems, driverless vehicles and robotics.

Fuel Duty – Has been frozen once again for 2017, this means that there has been no increase at all for the last seven years.

Investment to Ease Traffic Congestion – A £220 million fund has been earmarked to tackle the pinch-points on the national road network. This will see £90 million spent on the North and £23 million for the Midlands in an attempt to ease the strain on the UK road network.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) –VED rates for cars and vans registered before April, 2017 will increase by the rate of inflation from April 1^st.

There were also a number of tax measures which had previously been announced such as:

• Car Fuel Benefit Charge
• Company Car Benefit-in-Kind Tax to the End of 2020/21
• Insurance Premium Tax
• Van Benefit Charge
• Van Fuel Benefit Charge
• Vehicle Excise Duty for Cars First Registered From April 1st, 2017

For information on how Click Dealer’s custom built websites and top of the range dealer management systems can increase profitability for your business, contact us today on marketing@clickdealer.co.uk or by calling 01782 904 715