BVRLA demands strong action to support electric van uptake

The industry association said the Government must back its strong ambitions on road transport decarbonisation with a series of strong actions to ensure UK targets are met.

This includes creating a healthy, stabilised used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) market to ensure a successful new vehicle market.

The BVRLA warned again that the current market is not set up to absorb the high levels of supply coming its way, driving high vehicle depreciation that pushes values of new vehicles up.

It’s also called for work to create demand for rental vehicles as it warns the sector is facing unique challenges that are only exacerbated by forced supply. Customer demand is behind the business sector, while infrastructure installation is a costly and time-consuming process.

The BVRLA has also stressed the need for urgent action to enable electric van adoption. This includes removing regulatory barriers which could bring tens of thousands of electric vans to UK roads in the next few years.

The Zero Emission Van Plan, launched last year as a joint campaign by the BVRLA, Logistics UK, Recharge UK, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) and the EV Café, stressed the need for action on regulatory barriers, as well as fiscal incentives and charging.

BVRLA chief executive Toby Poston said: “Electric vehicle registrations have never been higher, but the fleet and mobility services sector’s confidence in a fast, fair and affordable net zero transition is wobbling.

“The long-awaited consultation on the ZEV Mandate provides a valuable opportunity for the government to realign its aims with the realities seen in the market. The targets are at major risk unless the policymakers deliver a comprehensive set of measures to drive long-term demand.”

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