The Labour government should retain the 2035 deadline for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars/vans introduced by Tories rather than reverting to the former 2030 date, according to Fleet Evolution.

Labour has said that it intends to restore the 2030 phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars

Andrew Leech, founder and managing director of the Tamworth-based EV salary sacrifice specialist, said a lack of UK charging infrastructure was hindering an earlier switchover and urged Labour to stick with the 2035 plan despite its plans to reinstate the 2030 date for cars.

Leech said 60% of the UK population can readily charge their EVs at home from either drive or garage with greater convenience than filling up with petrol or diesel. But an estimated 40% of drivers don’t have a driveway and will never be able to charge at home, with many having to resort to the more expensive, public fast charger network.

“It seems counterintuitive that, as specialists in the supply of EVs via salary sacrifice, we should be urging extending the deadline to ban the sale of new ICE vehicles to 2035.

“But the truth is that 40% of the potential EV-driving population do not have adequate access to home charging, and have to use the less convenient, more expensive public charging infrastructure,” said Leech.

Leech opined: “The shameful lack of action from local authorities on implementing street charging means that the only option for this portion of the population is to use the fast charge network which may not always be convenient to their home.

“And, cost-wise, a 200-mile journey can be as much as £50 using fast chargers, compared to as little as £5 for home charging.

“This, combined with a lack of older, used and more-affordable product, makes going electric not only difficult logistically but unaffordable for many, especially if the company does not have a salary sacrifice scheme or the employee is not eligible,” he set out.

Fleet Evolution carried out a survey with Aston University in 2019 which identified that the vast majority of people who could not charge at home did not have suitable charging facilities nearby.

“Now, nearly five years later, very little has changed when it comes to affordable and convenient local charging in urban centres,” he put forward.

In September 2023, the Tory government announced an extension of the ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles from 2030 to 2035. But, since coming to power, Labour has said that it intends to restore the 2030 date for cars to “provide certainty” to manufacturers.

Plans around the sale of new vans are unclear, with the Department for Transport only referring to cars in its announcement. That has made it unclear whether the deadline will also be brought forward by five years for fossil-fuelled vans.

And there is further uncertainty over the sale of both mild and plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs), with the original legislation stating they would be allowed until 2035.

Breathing space for infrastructure installation

Andrew Leech, founder and MD at Fleet Evolution

Leech argued that it made more sense for the Government to retain the 2035 deadlines for all vehicles, as it not only gave manufacturers more time to improve and refine their model line-ups, but it provided five years’ more breathing space for infrastructure suppliers to extend and upgrade the charging network.

“The priority now must be in investing in better resources for the 40% of the nation who risk being left behind in this new electric revolution.

“Where we need to see a coherent strategy from the new government is in large conurbations where people park in the street, sometimes outside their own house, but not always, and where lack of charging is holding them back from going electric,” he said.

And he cited the need for greater use of and support for cross-pavement charging solutions which could connect to individual home chargers and do not require trenching or subterranean infrastructure.

“We need better, more joined-up thinking from government to provide these types of better resources for potential EV drivers who don’t have access to a garage or driveway.

“There could be greater policing of parking outside residents’ homes, for example, with fines for those who take someone else’s parking space, plus wider use of lamp-post charging.

“We need a national strategy that focuses on and connects with the 40% who are in danger of being left behind. And that will require greater action, more investment and coherent, joined-up thinking across the country,” he said.

Phase-out target presents a ‘major risk’ without greater government support

The BVRLA has already spoken out this week about the Government’s planned reinstatement of the 2030 phase-out date for fossil-fuelled cars.

The rental and leasing body said a raft of extra measures would be needed to ensure the UK reaches Labour’s ambitious target of a return to the 2030 ICE phase-out for cars.

It’s also warned that a 2030 phase-out target for banning new ICE van sales – where the Government’s position remains unclear – is unachievable.

The BVRLA expects a formal consultation process to open in late September or early October – and says there is a desire within government to have the consultation complete and changes confirmed before the end of 2024, giving a tight window for everything to take place.

FleetCheck has also warned about major challenges with electric van adoption as it stresses that the Government must make clear its position on the diesel van ban clear.

Like the BVRLA, FleetCheck has spoken out about the significant practical issues with eLCV rollout faced by fleet operators.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist, said: “While electric car adoption by fleets has generally been a considerable success and the 2030 phase-out is absolutely viable, almost the opposite is true of electric vans.

“Compromises over range, payload and charging times mean that fleet sales of new electric vans are struggling to rise above 5% and there appears to be limited prospects of this changing dramatically unless that is some kind of unforeseen paradigm shift.”