Vans must be given high priority within any rethink of the Government’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate objectives, says FleetCheck.

Amid growing reports of potential changes to electric car targets for 2030 under the ZEV rules, Barrie Wilson, strategic relationship manager at the fleet software specialist, pointed out year-to-date sales data from the SMMT showed that while new cars were just five percentage points short of their 2026 headline target, new vans were 16 percentage points adrift.

“There has been extensive reporting during the last few days that a shake-up of the ZEV mandate is imminent but the conversation has almost exclusively been about cars.

“To an extent, that is understandable. There are roughly 35 million cars in the UK compared to five million vans. Electrification of the car parc will affect many more people and thanks to the investment needed, is having a huge impact on the viability of the UK motor industry.”

But Wilson said vans are an essential component of UK industry and, so far, have failed to catch on in electric form to anything like the extent the Government’s targets are demanding.

“We need to ensure they are not an afterthought in any revision of the ZEV mandate,” he stated.

Electric vans were failing to find sales for a variety of reasons, he added, including high initial costs, poor residual values, difficulties with accessing both overnight and highway charging, limited range, the impact of carrying a heavy payload and the reliability of some models.

“Fleets buy the vast majority of new vans and are rejecting electric options because the compromises they demand make them almost impossible to adopt for many operators.

“In the company car sector, where electrification has been relatively successful, these issues were much less pertinent. Also, there was a huge incentive in the shape of zero or very low Benefit-in-Kind taxation and most drivers were able to install their own low-cost, off-road, overnight charging. The van market is a completely different situation.”

Data from the Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer 2026 shows the most common reason for going electric is to be able to drive in a low emission zone.

FleetCheck warned that deep-seated operational barriers are currently stalling electric commercial vehicle adoption.

Wilson explained that there needed to be an understanding that operators were unlikely to substantially increase purchasing of electric vans unless more capable designs became available.

“Range, payload and cost are all improving but not really quickly enough to make a massive impact on electric van acceptance. Even if the Government introduced higher incentives on current designs, which is unlikely, they still wouldn’t be suitable for most applications.”

Also, the Government should not assume that forcing a wind-down of internal-combustion-engined van production would prompt a mass switchover to electric equivalents, he said.

“We speak to many fleet operators who say if new diesel vans are not available, they are more likely to continue to operate their existing vehicles for as long as possible rather than electrify. Any potential rethinking of the ZEV mandate needs to reflect this reality.”

Operational and financial considerations remain key barrier to eLCV adoption

Electric van adoption is underway, but operational and financial barriers remain key barriers, according to Tempcover.

The research, carried out among 500 UK sole traders and SMEs who rely on vans as part of their work, echoes FleetCheck’s comments that eLCV rollout is being hindered by a range of obstacles.

The Tempcover survey found that range anxiety is the leading hurdle to electric van adoption, cited by 39% of SMEs and sole traders who have not yet switched. This is followed by high upfront purchase costs (29%) and a lack of suitable charging infrastructure (28%). Meanwhile, just 8% of respondents state they face no barriers to adoption.

When assessing day-to-day capability, among those who are yet to switch, more than half (55%) say electric vans are not yet suited to the specific demands of their business, while almost three-quarters (70%) express reservations about their reliability for consistent high-mileage or long-distance work.

The study highlights that electric vehicle adoption is already establishing a foothold though, with nearly a third (30%) of UK SMEs and sole traders that use vans having already integrated electric models into their business operations. While 27% plan to switch within the next 12 months, a further 31% are considering doing so within the next one to five years, aligning with the planned phase-out of new petrol and diesel vans by 2035.

Beyond this, 9% remain indecisive; 5% are open to switching but have no concrete timeline in place, and 4% are not currently considering electric vans. A further 4% stated they do not intend to switch to electric vans.

Beyond practical logistics, attitudes towards adoption suggest many SMEs and sole traders are in a strategic ‘wait-and-see’ phase. For businesses that haven’t switched, over half (56%) say they would consider adopting electric vans if their direct competitors did so first, highlighting a strong reliance on market momentum.

At the same time, 52% say they do not feel well-informed enough to make a definitive decision on switching, emphasising ongoing knowledge gaps in the market. Despite their hesitations, almost two-thirds (63%) of businesses yet to switch anticipate that upcoming policy changes and manufacturing shifts will naturally guide their future fleet choices towards electric.

Claire Wills-McKissick, temporary business van insurance expert at Tempcover, said: “Given the scale of the decision, it seems businesses are focused on ensuring cost, capability and operational infrastructure are firmly in place before committing.”