9:59 am, November 27, 2025
The government has shelved plans to end Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS) – but only for now.
Changes to ECOS were due to come into effect on October 6, 2026, but in yesterday’s Budget statement the Treasury confirmed this has been delayed until April 2030.
The government said the postponement will give the sector more time to prepare and adapt.
ECOS came under the spotlight in the 2024 Autumn Budget, where chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to clamp down on what were described as ‘contrived car ownership schemes’.
The view within government is that the scheme exploits gaps in the benefit-in-kind rules.
Alongside this, the Treasury published revenue expectations for the policy.
It estimated that the measure would deliver an extra £275m to the public purse in the first full year of operation, covering the 2026/27 tax year.
The postponement follows months of lobbying from organisations including the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The body had called for the government to reconsider stopping the scheme, calling it the ‘wrong measure at the wrong time’.
Speaking after the yesterday’s Budget, SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said: ‘Deferring the end of employee car ownership schemes into the next parliament, meanwhile, will be welcomed by workers across the sector.’
