An error has been identified in the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) data provided to the ONS by the Department for Transport, which is used to calculate consumer prices inflation. The incorrect data overstate the number of vehicles subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates applicable in the first year of registration.
This has the effect of overstating the headline Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) and Retail Prices Index (RPI) annual rates by 0.1 percentage points for the year to April 2025 only. No other periods are affected. In line with our consumer prices revisions policy, these statistics will not be amended. However, we are reviewing our quality assurance processes for external data sources in light of this issue.
The ONS will be using the correctly weighted data from May 2025’s figures onwards, meaning no further statistics will be affected.
The ONS apologises for any inconvenience caused.