The UK government has just made owning an electric car more complicated. From 2028, drivers of battery powered cars face a new three pence per mile road charge. On paper it sounds modest. In reality it chips away at one of the big financial perks that persuaded many drivers to ditch petrol and diesel in the first place.
Chinese brands Omoda and Jaecoo have decided not to grumble. They have decided to weaponise it. Both are sub brands of Chery, now the largest exporter of cars from China and one of the quickest growing names in the UK showroom charts. Rather than wait for buyers to do the maths and panic about new running costs, they have launched their own EV Tax Rebate for their all electric models.
The offer is refreshingly simple. Buy an Omoda E5 or Jaecoo E5 on a four year finance deal and the brand will give you a six hundred pound rebate that is explicitly pitched as a refund of future road tax. At a rate of three pence per mile that covers twenty thousand miles of driving. For a typical EV owner that works out at roughly two years worth of pay per mile charges, effectively neutralised the moment you sign the paperwork.
Crucially this is not some obscure entry level trim. The rebate applies to the range topping Omoda E5 Noble and Jaecoo E5 Luxury versions. These cars are pitched as fully loaded family crossovers with long range batteries, generous equipment lists and cabin tech designed to stand comparison with established European brands. By tying the incentive to high spec models, Omoda and Jaecoo protect their margins while still giving buyers a headline figure to latch onto.
The timing is no accident. The government has been warned that the pay per mile tax risks slowing EV adoption just as the industry is gearing up for a phase out of new petrol and diesel sales. Chinese makers sense an opportunity. They already compete hard on price and specification. Now they can position themselves as the brands that keep EV running costs predictable even as the tax system shifts under drivers feet.
There is also a clever bit of marketing psychology at work. Most incentives are wrapped in finance jargon or buried in small print. Calling this an EV Tax Rebate reframes a routine discount as a direct response to a policy that many drivers view as unfair. Instead of feeling squeezed by a new charge, a buyer walks out believing their future tax bill is pre paid by the manufacturer.
For legacy brands this is a warning shot. They rely heavily on reputation and dealer networks to keep customers loyal through policy changes and new costs. Omoda and Jaecoo are new names fighting for attention. Aggressive offers like this do not just close individual deals. They help fix the idea that the most nimble and consumer friendly EV offers might now be arriving from China rather than from the old guard in Europe, Japan or America.