As the nation heads to the polls, Fleet World looks at some of the automotive and fleet sector’s electric vehicle wish list for the new government.

Next government must provide a clear plan to get EV to the next level in the UK

Ashley Tate, managing director of Allstar Chargepass UK

“It seems as though the UK’s transition to electric vehicles is steady – growing but not at the rate we’ve seen previously.

“Setting the phasing out of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles back to 2035 instead of 2030 might not seem to mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a powerful signal to the UK’s drivers and businesses that the entire EV agenda seems to have slowed, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). We need to get it back on track, not just for the environment but for the nation’s businesses.

“Right now, we don’t have anything like a government strategy for EVs, largely because there are political agendas afoot, rather than solving the strategic challenges for road users.

“The incoming government, whichever that may be, will have an incentive to try to score some easy wins, perhaps with a fuel duty cut, but what is needed is a clear strategy to get more people in EVs, and that means reducing their price, which time and time again comes up as the number one reason that many are yet to make the transition.

“Currently there is a lot of focus on infrastructure, such as getting more public chargers deployed. This isn’t where a new government should be spending its time and money – there are plenty of chargers on the streets already and the majority of charging is going to happen in drivers’ homes or businesses.

“What’s needed is subsidies to help individuals and businesses to buy EVs. Similar schemes have existed in the past, and there’s no reason that they can’t come back- if there is the political will to tackle this challenge head on.”

Rises to EV Benefit-in-Kind must be incremental, says AFP

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has said that an announcement on extended company car Benefit-in-Kind taxation tables should be “among the first fleet jobs” for the new government – and called for a moderate approach to tax rises.

The industry body said it is now nearly two years since the current tables were announced and they only run until the 2027/28 tax year, meaning fleets buying vehicles today don’t know the tax rate their drivers will be charged towards the end of the decade.

After a general election, the Chancellor will normally create a Budget or Fiscal Statement within the first couple of months, and the AFP said it would very much like to see the new tables announced at that point.

Paul Hollick, APF chair, also said that while the AFP broadly accepted Benefit-in-Kind rates on electric company cars would increase over time as they became widespread on fleets, it was important to maintain an incremental approach.

“Benefit-in-Kind taxation on electric company cars has been rising at about 1% every year and we believe that increases higher than this could easily prove counterproductive. While electric power has become almost the norm for many operators, it is largely the low hanging fruit that has been picked and we’re entering a more difficult phase.

“We’re now working our way through these trickier applications, notably where drivers don’t have charging available at their home or nearby, something that won’t be resolved properly until on-street charging infrastructure becomes widespread across the country. For these employees, low benefit in kind taxation is an important incentive to offset inconvenience.

“Also, as has been widely discussed, adoption of electric vans is proving much more difficult than for cars, and zero Benefit-in-Kind taxation for those van drivers should be maintained as long as possible in our opinion, alongside continuing exemption from road tax.”

The AFP Tax & Regulation Manifesto 2024 can be downloaded here.

We need the next government to make EVs affordable

Paul Holland, managing director for UK/ANZ fleet at Corpay, including UK brand, Allstar

“We can all agree that whether your driving is personal or professional, the costs are too high.

“The Government can’t wave a magic wand to dramatically bring down mobility costs, but large-scale, holistic changes to the way the UK moves could.

“Electrification is at the crux of this: charging a vehicle at home or at a private company is cheaper than recharging on the public network or refuelling with petrol or diesel. If electric vehicles were more widespread then UK drivers would pay less and fuel prices would be less volatile as over half of the UK’s electricity is produced by renewables.

“So, what can be done by the next government? The biggest change would be making EVs less expensive to buy. This has been done in the past through subsidies, but there seems to be little appetite in the currently proposed manifestos.

“One potential light on the horizon is the introduction of inexpensive EVs and a second-hand market – provided the incoming government can take action to support consumers and businesses with the costs of buying the vehicles.

“Perhaps taking funds from the sales of ICE vehicles and fossil fuels and earmarking them for incentives for EVs can help to increase the uptake of EVs and make transport cheaper for everyone.”

Boost UK battery industry with support to attract vital overseas investment

Greenpower Park, a West Midlands-based centre for electrification and green energy, has called on the next UK government to accelerate domestic battery production, as well as the associated supply chain, to invest in the UK.

The centre said the UK urgently needs to acquire a security of supply for battery cells to ensure the country meets the massive power demands as the world transitions to electric energy use and storage. It also warns the UK is lagging behind many other global countries, such as the US, France and Spain, when attracting multiple investors.

“This is not the first time the UK has faced a resource crisis. We ramped up steel supply in the 1940s and 50s to build and replace military and civil equipment and can draw a parallel from this with battery cell demands today. And if we act now, we can still resolve the crisis,” said Richard Moore, Greenpower Park’s battery strategy expert.

“The UK has got to get its head out of the sand if it thinks it’s going to hit its battery cell targets.

“The Government and stakeholders have been slow to react to battery cell supply demands. If the next government doesn’t take action, there will be a major risk to the security of energy supply, which will leave the nation in a perilous state.”

Rethink ZEV mandate for vans, urges FleetCheck

The incoming government should re-evaluate the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate for vans to reflect wide-ranging issues faced by fleets, according to FleetCheck.

Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist, said the gap between the capabilities of the vehicles on offer and the needs of many fleets was proving too wide – and there were no easy ways of bridging that divide.

“The massive success of electric company cars in recent years has shown that fleets are willing and able to electrify rapidly and on a large scale. However, the situation for vans is proving much, much more difficult.

“For some fleets that carry lighter loads over shorter distances, and where depot or off-street domestic charging is available, electric van adoption can be relatively simple, but for others, there are a whole host of hurdles.

“Limited range and payload, and poor access to overnight charging for drivers living in terraced houses or apartments, are very real and widespread problems, as well as more specific difficulties surrounding everything from the 4.25-tonne derogation to 12V battery charging. That’s before you get to residual values.

“This situation appears to be having a direct impact on sales, which appear to be flatlining for the moment at least. Unless you are a major business such as a utility company with a strong corporate emphasis on van electrification and the funds to manage that transition, interest is relatively weak.”

Golding said that, given these difficulties, the ZEV mandate target of 70% of all van sales being electric by 2030 looked potentially unrealistic.

“That’s just six years away which means, for most van fleets, not much more than one replacement cycle. The structural problems that fleets are facing seem extremely difficult to solve in that timespan.”

FleetCheck warned that whoever wins power will need to do is look at this issue “before it becomes acute later in the decade”.

“It seems clear that either some form of support or incentive – similar to low Benefit-in-Kind taxation for electric cars – will be needed, alongside a massive expansion of low-cost on-street charging,” Golding stressed.

“We are already talking to fleets who are thinking about keeping hold of their diesel vans for as long as possible in order to delay the switch to electrification. If a government policy is directly leading fleets to consider hanging onto much more polluting vehicles for longer, it is probably the wrong policy.”

Restimulate private EV market, car dealers urge next government

The electric vehicle market is stagnating and requires action to incentivise take-up, address myths and misinformation, and drive charge point installations, according to the National Franchised Dealer Association (NFDA).

The industry trade body, which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK, has warned that private consumers are not adopting EVs at a quick enough rate – in stark contrast to soaring fleet demand.

It’s calling for a range of measures from the new government to tackle this and other core sector challenges.

The NFDA believes price incentives for EVs would be the biggest factor in persuading consumers into making the shift to electric.

The association is calling for the introduction of a clear upfront price incentive on the purchase of an electric vehicle to help increase the uptake of EVs and help mature the market from early adopters to the mainstream.

It’s also urging the next government to harmonise the VAT between public and private EV charging to 5%; and extend the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) exemption on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for an additional year, until 2026/27.

The NFDA also said there’s “a dire need” for the next government to address the misinformation currently surrounding electric vehicles in the media.

The association has also called for annual public charge point targets to be mandated. It points to the current goal to have 300,000 public EV charge points by 2030 – with latest research indicating that the rate of installation must double for the target to be met.

Chief executive Sue Robinson said: “Once the election has concluded and the dust settles, it is crucial for the next government to work with NFDA and the wider industry to tackle the concerns of dealerships and consumers alike.”