“Double-cab pick-up trucks are an essential tool for the farming and agricultural sector, construction, transport and for small business owners such as landscape gardeners, who rely on the additional space provided not only for passengers but additional stowage, which will now carry a significant premium for many,” according to Ford.
The company sold 20,000 Rangers in the UK last year, and estimates that at least two-thirds of customers will be hit by the tax hike. “If the Government will not reconsider its decision to implement these changes to taxation, it should – at a minimum – consider a deferral to April 2026, allowing those affected time to prepare and adjust appropriately,” the spokesperson told us.
A spokesman for Musso importer KGM Motors echoed those views: “We, along with the wider industry and users of double-cab pick-ups, feel the HMRC’s logic is wrong and out of date.
“The majority of double-cab pick-up buyers have a specific need for the vehicle, and its dual purpose negates the need to run two vehicles, a car and a van,” the firm told us. “The historic view that double-cab pick-ups are a tax dodge is incorrect. If these people are avoiding a passenger car BIK, then they would choose an EV, which is lower BIK than a commercial vehicle.”
Isuzu, which has less of a ‘lifestyle’ focus than some rivals in the sector, told us that the majority of its customers are likely to be unaffected by the BiK change, but agrees that capital allowance changes will impact business owners.
The firm also pointed to its plan “to introduce the first fully capable BEV pick-up to the UK in 2026”. Launched at the Bangkok Motor Show in March last year, the zero-emission vehicle promises to retain a one-tonne payload and 3.5-tonne towing capacity, but will mean reduced BiK compared with ICE pick-ups.
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