The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is urging fleets to “step up” lobbying for clarification on operational requirements on 4.25-tonne electric vans as it warns of ongoing confusion.

The AFP is asking fleets to get involved with lobbying as it warns that operators are starting to cancel orders for 4.25-tonne electric vans

While such vehicles benefit from a gross vehicle weight derogation that enables individuals with a Category B (passenger car) licence to drive them, the AFP says the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) and the Driver Vehicle Standards Authority (DVSA) need to officially clarify additional operational requirements.

And the industry body is asking fleets to get involved with lobbying as it warns that operators are starting to cancel orders for such vehicles.

In 2019, a special concession was created by the Department of Transport (DfT) for electric vans. Normally, an individual with a standard B licence would only be able to drive a light commercial vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes but recognising the extra weight added by batteries, this was extended to 4.25 tonnes.

The derogation was granted to avoid constraining payload for operators using battery electric vehicles and recognises the extra weight added by batteries. Such vehicles are also exempt from O licence rules.

While the Government has said it has no plans to remove the derogation – and recently consulted on ways to continue and expand on the current measures – the AFP says a situation has emerged whereby OZEV believe the vehicles have been deregulated from all of the operator responsibilities that normally apply to vans over 3.5 tonnes whereas the DVSA and the DFT believe some still apply.

And with 4.25-tonne electric vans starting to come to market in quantity during the last year, the issue is becoming more pressing.

Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, has warned that the association’s members are now cancelling their orders for 4.25-tonne vans due to concerns that they may find themselves inadvertently breaking the law if they simply treat them like a 3.5-tonne diesel van.

He said: “We’re big fans of the 4.25-tonne derogation. It makes absolute sense that the adoption of electric vans around the crucial 3.5-tonne mark should be made easier for as many fleets as possible. However, what we are seeing is confusion with, to adopt an old cliché, the left arm and the right arm of Government seemingly at odds. This wouldn’t be so bad if the situation hadn’t now been dragging on for several months. It’s incredibly frustrating.

“Fleets are receiving all kinds of conflicting advice – not just from OZEV and the DVSA but manufacturers, dealers, leasing companies and others – with no resolution in sight. Instead, they’re understandably throwing their hands up in the air and we hear of many operators simply cancelling orders.”

The AFP says its current interpretation is that such additional operational requirements  include an MOT test every 12 months from new and a speed limiter to be fitted. In addition, any vehicles operating outside of a 100km (62 miles) radius of the base would be required to comply with EU driver hours’ rules and a tachograph would be required. However, for vehicles operating within the 100km radius a tachograph is not needed and should not be specified because it will then need calibration at MOT, and neither is an O licence required.

A response to last year’s DfT consultation on increased driving licence flexibility on electric vans is still due, which explored ways to bring further support for drivers.

Run until October in 2022, the consultation explored ways to continue and expand on the current derogation for electric vans up to 4.25 tonnes, which could be rolled out in Great Britain.

The association is now stepping up its lobbying of OZEV, the DVSA and the DFT to bring their interpretations into line with the original intention that 4.25-tonne vans can be operated exactly like their 3.5-tonne equivalents.

And it’s asking individual fleet operators do the same.

“We’re urging as many people within the fleet industry [as possible] to make their feelings known as soon as possible. It really does seem that at a point in time when we should be seeing the Government help to enable large-scale adoption of electric vans for major operators, they’re allowing a small muddle to fester into a minor crisis. We first highlighted this issue in May and little or no progress seems to have been made. It needs to be resolved now,” stated Hollick.

He added that the issue was adding to a general sense among some fleets that operating electric vans was simply not worth the hassle in the short-medium term.

“As the AFP has detailed in recent months, electric van adoption is generally proving much more difficult for many fleets than electric cars. This is especially true given concerns over range and payload, while unnecessary problems such as these 4.25-tonne issues create additional hurdles that are proving frustratingly difficult to sort out.”