NFDA Northern Ireland Budget 2021 Comment

Sue Robinson, Chief Executive, National Franchised Dealers Association Northern Ireland division (NFDA NI)

The National Franchised Dealers Association Northern Ireland division (NFDA NI) welcomes the Government’s commitment to reduce the tax burden on franchised vehicle dealers and to enhance electric charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

The Chancellor confirmed £49 million will be allocated to Northern Ireland via round one of the Levelling Up Fund, including upgrades to electric vehicle charging networks across the country. NFDA called for such a measure to be enacted in its spending review submission.

With the UK set to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) models from 2030, there is a growing mobility divide. Rural and deprived communities are at risk of being left behind when it comes to the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This means that consumer confidence in such areas is lower, resulting in lower number of EV sales.

This is evident from the current situation in Northern Ireland. Not only does it have the fewest number of public chargepoints of any region per 100,000 people  in the UK, but many of those are antiquated and unreliable.

The Chancellor also announced that the Government will legislate to be able to introduce a Second-Hand Motor Vehicle Export Refund Scheme. The NFDA has lobbied hard to ensure Northern Irish dealers were not unfairly penalised following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Under such a scheme, businesses that remove used motor vehicles from Great Britain for resale in Northern Ireland or the EU may be able to claim a refund of VAT following export. This will ensure that Northern Ireland motor vehicle dealers will remain in a comparable position as those applying the VAT margin scheme elsewhere in the UK.