Fleet engagement with the new government consultation on Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) is “essential” to highlight a wide range of potential problems, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has stated.

Paul Hollick, chair of the business group for the fleet sector, said AFP members had major concerns over the system being proposed, despite broadly accepting the need for the Government to recover revenue lost from fuel duty.

Earlier this week, the BVRLA called on fleets and leasing firms to take action on the Government’s plans for the new pay-per-mile charge, as it warned that the plans were “poorly timed and very problematic to implement”.

And now the AFP has said there are “considerable problems” with eVED as currently proposed.

Hollick said at a strategic level, the timing was “highly questionable”.

“Acceptance of EVs in the fleet and especially retail sectors is growing steadily but still highly uneven. Adding to costs before electric cars become the norm, especially with a new form of taxation, is a very risky move.

“Initial public reception to the idea of pence-per-mile payments has not been positive and there is the possibility that eVED becomes a further, perhaps major, barrier to EV adoption.”

While the Government has indicated its view that “negativity” to eVED will be offset by continuing the new Electric Car Grant until near the end of the decade, the AFP said this was “questionable”.

And Hollick pointed out that the Electric Car Grant expansion won’t help demand in the used market, which is “perhaps where fleets have the biggest concerns about electrification because of less-than-expected residual values”.

Additionally, there were problems with the eVED scheme as outlined, he said, with the estimated mileage amount paid upfront and adjusted 12 months later following verification.

“It’s just something of a hotch-potch. It’s not really pay-on-use and it’s not really retrospective charging. We’re struggling to see any advantages at all in this approach.

“The obvious alternative is a technological solution but journey tracking would inevitably and properly raise questions over privacy and civil liberties. Also, any form of hardware or software used to collect data could add significant costs for fleets and private motorists.”

A further issue, he added, was the need for drivers to book into MOT test stations annually to have their mileage verified.

“Cars under three years old, representing the vast majority of fleet vehicles, don’t visit MOT stations and it’s an area where we know there is undercapacity, so this will mean lost work time and unnecessary disruption. It certainly doesn’t fit with the consultation’s stated aim of minimising the administrative burden of eVED.”

Hollick said the AFP’s Future Roads Committee would convene soon to aggregate member views on eVED and present them to the Government.

“We’re planning on making our views heard firmly as an industry body and it is essential individual fleets to do the same. The more information that can be presented as part of the consultation before the 18 March deadline, the better.”

But despite the many difficulties that eVED presented, the AFP said it was promising that the Government had established a track record of listening to fleets on major issues.

“Our experience of working alongside other industry bodies to present the fleet sector’s concerns about policies that affect us has been largely positive. The Government often takes note of our representations.

“In the last week or so, we’ve seen this in new measures that make adoption of 4.25-tonne electric vans much easier and, in the Budget, the extension of the VED Expensive Car Supplement to £50,000. We’re very much hoping a similar, pragmatic approach will be applied to the many concerns we hold about eVED.

“A plus point is that we have more than two years before the planned introduction of the new system and it is possible, even probable, that considerable time and effort will be needed to arrive at a solution that works for fleets, private motorists and the Treasury. The current consultation may well be the first step in a lengthy process.”

Details of the eVED consultation and the link for responses are online here.