Progress in the UK’s road to zero is being counterbalanced by freefalling used vehicle values, “fiercely expensive” public charging costs and other continued threats, the BVRLA has warned.

Its latest annual Road to Zero Report, now in its seventh edition, explores decarbonisation progress across vehicle supply, demand and infrastructure and warns of the risk of deepening imbalances.

On the plus side, corporate demand for electric cars remains solid and the availability of new electric vehicles and salary sacrifice schemes continue to democratise access to EVs for hard-to-reach demographics.

But that positivity is being overturned by the used market, with the average used EV price having fallen 46% between 2021 and 2024, compared to 19% for ICE.

Toby Poston, BVRLA chief executive, said: “Used EV values are falling relentlessly, destroying value on an epic scale. This death by a thousand cuts is costing fleets hundreds of millions of pounds and eroding confidence across our industry.”

The BVRLA also warns of a lack of used BEV market incentives and says the UK market for used EVs is performing worse than in other European countries.

And while growth in charge point numbers is positive, with soaring public charger and hub installations, a lack of charge points at destinations such as hotels and leisure venues is a significant “unseen” barrier to EV adoption. Through its Bon VoyCharge campaign this summer, the BVRLA is highlighting that an effective charging network is not just about the number of charge points in the ground, but matching the speed and accessibility with the key use case in a given location.

EV rental also remains a concern. The number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on rental fleets remains low due to limited demand from customers. While the number of ZEVs in the rental fleet has increased, the utilisation of BEVs has decreased.​

Meanwhile, on the electric van side, demand remains slow, not helped by a lack of incentives. Alongside regulations, the capabilities of e-vans are a major obstacle. Despite improvements in range and charging speeds, the cost of electric vans remains too high. Challenges are compounded by a lack of suitable public charging, with steep costs and the investment levels needed to install private infrastructure. Until van fleets, in particular SMEs, are truly confident that the product, costs, and operations are comparable to their diesel vans the transition will continue to lag outside the largest fleets.

The assessment comes out of the BVRLA’s annual Road to Zero Report, which explores decarbonisation progress across vehicle supply, demand and infrastructure.

The updated Road to Zero Report was launched as part of the BVRLA’s annual Fleets in Charge Conference. There, delegates also heard from Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP, who outlined where the Government is taking steps to support road transport decarbonisation.

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Transport is the engine of our economy and its success is key for delivering our climate and growth missions. The transition to zero emissions cars, vans and HGVs, brings huge opportunities to futureproof our world-class automotive and logistics sectors and secure the long-term sustainable growth this country needs.

“I welcome BVRLA’s Road to Zero report and look forward to continuing to work alongside industry on this journey to deliver our joint goal of a greener and more prosperous future.”

The BVRLA’s Toby Poston added: “We know the Government is listening. The £1.8bn committed to support EV uptake [in the Spending Review] last month could make a difference, and we’ll continue to work with government to highlight how this money can achieve the best return on investment.”

The Road to Zero Report, produced in association with Ricardo, presents hard data supported by expert analysis and commentary and is available in full via the dedicated RoadToZero.co.uk website.