Vauxhall cuts EV prices to avoid revised luxury car tax

• Price cuts for electric Grandland and Astra Sports Tourer
• Entire Vauxhall lineup now starts from under £40,000
• In response to luxury car tax now extending to electric cars

Vauxhall has announced a new series of price cuts to ensure that all of its electric cars avoid the expensive car supplement, or ‘luxury car tax’ as it's often referred to.

The luxury car tax, which was previously applicable only to petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, is now levied on all new cars costing £40,000 or more, including electric cars. It has some big financial implications for car buyers, costing an extra £425 a year from years two to six of ownership on top of the standard VED (road tax) rate.

Vauxhall says that buyers of its electric cars will save £2,125 in tax thanks to its price cuts, which bring its priciest models under the £40,000 threshold. If you factor in the reduced list prices, the savings total up to £2,825. While that may sound like a major move by Vauxhall, in reality, only two of its electric cars were over the £40,000 limit, and only when ordered in top-spec Ultimate trim.

Which Vauxhall models are now cheaper?

The Vauxhall Grandland Ultimate was previously priced from £40,495 in electric guise, but it now starts from £39,995. The other electric model over the limit was the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Ultimate, which has been reduced from £40,695 to £39,995, as well. Bear in mind that this is the starting price before options – ticking a few option boxes or choosing a fancy paint colour will push that price tag over the £40,000 limit, which will mean you incur the extra fee.

If we’re being pedantic, not every electric Vauxhall costs under £40,000. The Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric, the brand’s nine-seater van-based MPV, still costs upwards of £50,000 in Design and Ultimate trims. Buyers of these models will have to hand over the extra £425 a year in tax.

Vauxhall’s managing director, Eurig Druce, said: “The threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement has remained at £40,000 since inception in 2017 despite subsequent high levels of inflation – if it were to have risen with inflation it would now be around £52,000.

“With the average price of an EV in the UK at around £48,000, this new tax means that customers buying some of the more attainable electric cars on the market are now being penalised whilst at the same time we are trying to move as many British motorists to electric as quickly as possible.

“The good news is that Vauxhall electric customers are below this new threshold.”

This isn’t the first time that Vauxhall has introduced price cuts for its electric models. The Grandland Electric saw its list price slashed by nearly £5,000 at the end of 2024, while discounts for the Corsa Electric and Astra Electric have brought them closer in price to their petrol and hybrid counterparts.

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