Electric Car Chat

How EV Pence Per Mile Road Charging Could Work!

• Graham Hill • Season 2 • Episode 16

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Headlines warned of surveillance and new tolls, but the real solution to funding roads in an electric future is simpler, cheaper and far more private. We make the case for a mileage-based model that uses technology already built into most modern EVs to replace falling fuel duty without tracking where you go.

Here’s the core idea: your car already stores mileage in multiple ECUs and connects via over‑the‑air updates for software and safety. By transmitting one number—total miles—monthly, encrypted and cross‑checked across modules, we can bill fairly without collecting locations, speeds or routes. For older EVs, an enhanced MOT reads mileage from several modules to detect tampering. Add a clever EV-only safeguard—comparing reported miles to battery energy consumed over time—and the fraud incentives collapse. No GPS black boxes, no new roadside infrastructure, no toll-diverted traffic through small towns.

We dig into the money and the mechanics: why £35 billion in fuel duty cannot be replaced by general taxation without forcing non‑drivers to pay for drivers, and why GPS telematics, tolling and electricity taxes fail on cost, fairness or politics. We walk through a three‑year rollout—legislation and standards, national pilots, then live billing—and show how manufacturers can adopt a light protocol change alongside existing OTA and diagnostic capabilities. For fairness, we explore rate adjustments for rural drivers, exemptions for disabled drivers and weight‑based tiers that reflect road wear. And we tackle the big fear head‑on: EVs still win on cost per mile at home, lower servicing, and tax perks; per‑mile charging simply preserves the long‑standing principle that users fund the roads they use.

If this vision resonates—or infuriates—you, we want to hear it. Follow, share with a friend who’s sceptical about road pricing, and leave a quick review to help more drivers find the show.

To buy a copy of Electric Cars - The Truth Revealed visit grahamhilltraining.com. Buy the current copy and receive the totally updated version in early 2026. If you are interested in sponsoring this podcast or would be interested in working together please visit grahamhilltraining.com/contact


Hi, I’m Graham Hill and I’d like to welcome you to another episode of my podcast, Electric Car Chat. This was to be my first dive into the psychology involved in the transition from petrol and diesel cars to electric having produced 11 practical podcasts on the important subject of insurance. However, having been asked about my thoughts on some recent news I thought it would be useful to give my views as it will affect all electric vehicle drivers. So you’ll have to wait a little longer, until the next podcast when I will start to dive into the psychological transition to electric. 

OK, If you've been following the news lately, you'll have seen headlines about the Chancellor considering road pricing for electric vehicles. The suggestion is three pence per mile. The question is, how could the Government check individual electric car mileage and then collect it? And predictably, following a few suggestions, the internet has exploded with outrage about Big Brother surveillance and GPS tracking and so on.
 
 But here's the thing - and this is why I wanted to dedicate an entire episode to this topic - almost everyone discussing this is missing something fundamental. The technology to make road pricing work, without any of the dystopian surveillance nonsense, already exists. If you’re an electric car driver it's sitting in your driveway right now. It's actually built into your car.
 
 So today, I'm going to explain exactly how this could work, why I think it's actually quite brilliant, and why we need to stop panicking, take a step back and start thinking creatively about solutions.
 
 So let's start with the problem. The UK government currently collects about £35 billion annually from fuel duty and VAT on petrol and diesel. That's not small change - it's roughly equivalent to our entire defence budget. And as we transition to electric vehicles, that revenue stream is evaporating. By 2030, when new petrol and diesel sales end, the Treasury clearly needs a replacement even though only 8 million out of a total of 34 million cars on the road will be electric.
 
 Now, there have been a few suggestions that the Government should "just take it from general taxation" – so let me explain why that's a terrible idea. Roads cost money to maintain. Someone has to pay for them. Currently, that's mostly drivers, through fuel duty. If we move to general taxation, everyone pays equally regardless of whether or not they use roads. That means people who don't drive - perhaps because they can't afford a car - end up subsidising those who do. That's fundamentally unfair. A little like petrol and diesel car drivers paying fuel duty and VAT to subsidise electric car drivers. 
 
 So we need a system where road users pay for roads. The question is: how?
 Let me quickly run through why the obvious solutions won't work, because understanding why something won't work is just as important as understanding what will.
 
 An immediate suggestion was to use GPS telematics black boxes. You know, those insurance black boxes young drivers have? Imagine fitting those to 34 million UK cars as well as the growing number of electric vans, trucks, busses and so on. The cost would be astronomical - we're talking billions of pounds. Plus, the privacy implications alone would sink any government proposing it. People don't want the government tracking their every movement.
 
 What about tolling major roads? Turn the M1 and M40 into giant toll roads? And God forbid we ever turn the M25 into a toll road. That might work for capturing long-distance miles, but it would simply push traffic onto minor roads. Imagine the chaos in rural villages and small towns as people avoid the tolls.
 
 Another suggestion has been self-certification? Ask drivers to declare their annual mileage, maybe with random audits? This would be a fraudster's paradise of course. People already lie about their mileage when selling their cars. I just don’t think that self certification has a cat in hell’s chance of succeeding.
 
 MOT-based charging sounds a little more sensible - record mileage at the annual MOT test then charge accordingly. But this idea is deeply flawed. New cars are exempt for three years. Odometers can be tampered with relatively easily on older vehicles. It creates an unfair annual lump-sum payment rather than spreading the cost although monthly payments could be accommodated.
 
 And taxing electricity? Politically impossible. Can you imagine the backlash when people realise they're paying road tax on the electricity that powers their kettles and charges their phones? Even using smart meters wouldn't solve this. I believe that it's a non-starter.
 
 So if none of those work, what does? Well, here's where it gets interesting, and here's where creative thinking beats economic theory every single time.
 
 Modern vehicles - particularly electric vehicles - are not just cars with batteries and motors instead of engines. They're computers on wheels. Sophisticated computers that store data in multiple places throughout the vehicle.
 
 Your car doesn't just show you the mileage on the dashboard display. That's just one place the data is stored. Modern vehicles record mileage in multiple electronic control units - ECUs - throughout the vehicle. The instrument cluster, yes, but also the engine or motor ECU, the Body Control Module, the transmission control unit, the ABS system, even the infotainment system.
 
 Now, why would manufacturers do this? It's not accidental. It's a built-in anti-tampering measure. If someone "clocks" a car – in other words winds back the odometer to make it look like it's done fewer miles - the mileage figures across these different modules won't match. Dealerships can spot this immediately when they plug into the diagnostic port.
 
 But here's the crucial bit that changes everything: most modern electric vehicles, and an increasing number of recent petrol cars, have something else built in. Over-The-Air update capability. Or OTA, as it's known in the industry.
 
 You know how Tesla can update your car's software overnight? How Polestar can add new features remotely? That's OTA technology. And it's becoming ubiquitous.
 
 That same technology - that same mobile data connection your car already has for software updates and emergency calls – could be used to transmit your mileage data. And here's the key part: it could do this whilst preserving your privacy.
 
 So how would this actually work in practice? Let me break it down. First of all, this will only apply to electric vehicles as fuel duty will continue to be collected via petrol and diesel sold at the pumps. 
 
 For modern vehicles with OTA capability - we're talking most EVs from 2020 onwards - your car would automatically report its total mileage once a month to a dedicated data collection centre. Not your location. Not your journeys. Not your speed. Not where you've been. Just a single number: total miles driven.
 
 The data would be pulled simultaneously from multiple ECUs and cross-referenced. If the figures don't match, it flags potential tampering. The encrypted data transmits via the vehicle's existing mobile connection - the same one that already handles software updates.
 
 Every month or quarter, you receive a bill based on your actual mileage. Simple. Automatic. Tamper-resistant. For those on tight budgets, maybe fixed monthly payments with annual adjustments.
 
 For older vehicles without OTA - because let's be realistic, we'll have those on UK roads for another couple of decades - they'd fall under an enhanced MOT system. When your car goes for its annual test, the garage doesn't just record the dashboard mileage. They plug into the diagnostic port and pull mileage data from multiple ECUs.
 
 Any discrepancy between these figures would result in an automatic MOT failure and trigger an investigation. The penalty for tampering would be the same as MOT fraud - unlimited fines and potential criminal prosecution. I have a small reservation here regarding the robustness of the various mileage recorders as it’s not unusual for faults to occur. Maybe ongoing alerts if mileage recorders go out of sync. 
 
 Now, I can already hear some of you thinking "but Graham, surely people will just tamper with the mileage? Some do it now when selling cars."
 
 Well, yes, some do. But clocking a modern car isn't like rolling back an old mechanical speedometer. You need manufacturer-level diagnostic equipment and the technical knowledge to reprogram multiple control modules simultaneously. It's not impossible, but it's difficult enough to deter casual fraud.
 
 And for OTA-enabled vehicles, there's an additional safeguard: the government's mileage records over time. If your car suddenly reports a lower mileage than the previous month, that's an immediate red flag requiring explanation. You can't unwind miles already reported.
 
 For electric vehicles specifically - and this is rather clever - there's another cross-check: miles driven versus energy consumed. Battery management systems track energy consumption with extraordinary precision. If you've supposedly driven 10,000 miles but your charging records show you've only consumed enough electricity for 8,000 miles, something doesn't add up.
 
 Now, let's address the elephant in the room: Won't this kill EV adoption? After all, one of the big selling points of EVs is lower running costs.
 
 Actually, EVs make this system easier, not harder. Nearly every electric vehicle sold in the past five years has OTA updates as standard. Tesla pioneered it, but now it's everywhere. Polestar, Volkswagen ID models, MG, BYD, Hyundai, Kia - they all have it.
 
 Battery management systems track energy consumption with, we are told, extraordinary precision. This provides an additional fraud detection layer that petrol cars wouldn’t be able to match if it was considered that all cars should pay road mileage and do away with fuel duty on ICE cars. Although that’s highly unlikely as it will probably become a transition lever in the future as the Government removes the ongoing freeze on fuel duty and increases it year on year, making petrol and diesel cars less financially attractive.
 
 EVs also have simpler architecture than petrol cars. Fewer mechanical components. No gearbox to manipulate, no complex engine ECU. The motor controller and battery management system are typically sealed units. They're actually harder to tamper with than conventional vehicles.
 
 And here's something many people don't realise: many EV manufacturers already collect vehicle data, for warranty purposes, battery health monitoring, performance optimisation. The infrastructure to gather and transmit this data already exists - it just needs repurposing for mileage reporting.
 
 So when could this actually happen? I reckon it could be implemented in line with what is believed to be the Chancellor’s target and that’s within three years 

Year one - let's say 2026: Parliament passes the Road Pricing Act. HMRC works with vehicle manufacturers to develop a standardised OTA reporting protocol. MOT testing centres receive updated equipment and training. The Government launches a public information campaign.
 
 Year two - 2027: Volunteer EV drivers join a pilot programme. OTA reporting gets tested at scale. MOT system updates roll out nationwide. Anti-tampering enforcement procedures get established.
 
 Year three - 2028: All OTA-capable vehicles begin automatic mileage reporting. The monthly or quarterly billing system goes live. Older vehicles transition to the enhanced MOT-based system. Fuel duty continues on petrol and diesel cars although we would need to ensure that plug-in hybrids were capable of segregating electric miles from ICE miles. And crucially, the system is implemented as revenue-neutral - per-mile charges set to match current fuel duty revenue.
 
 By 2035, the vast majority of the UK fleet will be OTA-capable. The MOT-based system would only handle the oldest electric vehicles still on the road.
 
 Now, let me address the concerns I know most people will be thinking about.
 
 Privacy. This is the big one. But as I mentioned earlier, the system I'm describing doesn't track where you go, when you travel, or what speed you drive. It only records one number: total miles. That's far less invasive than GPS telematics, far less invasive than congestion charging cameras that photograph your number plate, far less invasive than your mobile phone which tracks your location constantly.
 
 The data would be encrypted, transmitted securely, protected under the same regulations that govern your tax records. Although frankly, I'd recommend this isn't handled by HMRC. Extend the DVLA's role to include mileage-based charging alongside annual vehicle excise duty. 
 
 What about manufacturer cooperation? Well, the government has leverage here. Want to sell cars in the UK? Comply with UK regulations. Just as vehicles must meet emissions standards, safety standards, and type approval, they could be required to support standardised mileage reporting.
 
 International manufacturers already modify vehicles for different markets. Adding UK mileage reporting would be a minor software change, not a hardware modification. And I suspect many other countries would follow suit once we prove it works.
 
 Data security? The data would be minimal - just mileage figures - encrypted in transit, subject to strict access controls. Unlike GPS tracking, there's no journey data to steal or misuse.
 
 What about fairness? The current system - fuel duty - is already based on usage. Efficient cars pay less per mile, inefficient cars more. But a per-mile system is arguably more fair: everyone pays the same for road usage regardless of what they drive. Drive 10,000 miles, pay for 10,000 miles.
 
 The government could add fairness adjustments. Lower rates for rural areas where public transport isn't viable. Exemptions or reductions for disabled drivers. Graduated rates based on vehicle weight - because heavier vehicles cause more road damage.
 
 And the critical question: won't this kill EV adoption?
 
 Whilst the Government is currently giving away grants on new qualifying electric vehicles with one hand, they’ll be taking away with the other by introducing road charging. 

Look, petrol drivers already pay fuel duty. Per-mile charging would simply maintain that principle. If implemented as revenue-neutral - charging EV drivers roughly what petrol drivers currently pay in duty - it's not an additional burden, just a different collection method.
 
 And EVs still have massive running cost advantages. Electricity is significantly cheaper than petrol per mile, especially when charging at home. Servicing costs are much lower - no oil changes, no complex exhaust systems, fewer brake replacements thanks to regenerative braking. Company car tax benefits remain. Road pricing doesn't eliminate these advantages; it just partially closes the gap.
 
 Let's finally talk about the alternatives, because this puts things into perspective.
 
 Option A: Let road funding collapse. As fuel duty revenues fall, road maintenance suffers. We're already seeing this by way of the pothole crises, deteriorating motorways, delayed infrastructure projects. Without replacement revenue, this gets dramatically worse.
 
 Option B: Take money from other services. That £35 billion fuel duty shortfall has to come from somewhere. Health? Education? Defence? Social care? Or significant tax rises elsewhere?
 
 Option C: Fund roads from general taxation. Abolish fuel duty, replace it with nothing specific. This means everyone pays for roads equally, regardless of usage. Those who don't drive subsidise those who do. This would be fundamentally unfair.
 
 Option D: Accept that road pricing is necessary. The only realistic option. Roads cost money. Users should pay in proportion to usage. We've had this via fuel duty since 1909. We need a new mechanism as the vehicle fleet changes.
 
 Here's the bottom line. Road pricing isn't about surveillance, control, or punishing drivers. It's about maintaining a funding mechanism that's worked for decades but is becoming obsolete as we transition away from fossil fuels.
 
 The technology to make it work exists right now in most of the UK electric vehicles. We don't need to build elaborate new infrastructure. We don't need GPS tracking. We don't need to install black boxes or spend billions on new systems.
 
 We just need to use what's already there: OTA connectivity for modern electric vehicles, enhanced MOT verification for older ones, and the multi-ECU mileage recording that's been standard in vehicles for years.
 
 The government should implement what's actually achievable. Legislation in 2026, pilot scheme in 2027, full implementation in 2028. Three years to replace a revenue stream that's been in place for over a century.
 
 It's technically feasible. It's politically achievable if explained properly. And it's economically necessary.
 
 The question isn't whether we should do it. It's whether we have the political courage to explain it properly to voters and get on with it.
 
 Because if we don't, we'll be sitting in traffic on potholed roads in ten years, wondering why nobody thought of a practical solution. While the answer was sitting in our driveways all along.
 
 That's it for this episode of Electric Car Chat. I know this has been more policy-focused than usual, but I think it's incredibly important we understand what's actually possible versus what the headlines would have us believe.
 
 If you've got thoughts on this - whether you agree or disagree - I'd love to hear from you. Drop me a message on social media or through the website.
 
 I’ve been Graham Hill, still making a ruckus, catch you on the next one.