Clarity urged on Government ICE van ban date

The Labour election manifesto pledged to reinstate the ban for cars to 2030, something to which it has recommitted, but has yet to clarify whether the move will also apply to vans.

Highlighting the issue, Peter Golding, managing director of FleetCheck, said:

For many fleets, 2030 is less than one typical van replacement cycle away and the lack of certainty is leaving them in an almost impossible situation.

The current phase-out date for petrol and diesel vans is set for 2035. The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) says reinstating the 2030 phase-out date for the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vans is not practicable. Golding added:

While electric car adoption by fleets has generally been a success and the 2030 phase-out is viable, almost the opposite is true of electric vans.

Compromises over range, payload and charging times mean that fleet sales of new electric vans are struggling to rise above 5% and there appears to be limited prospects of this changing dramatically unless that is some kind of unforeseen paradigm shift.

He said the objections fleets had to electric vans were purely practical, with their use for anything other than local, light duty work proving questionable. Golding added:

“Fleets are looking at the ZEV Mandate – which will see electric van production rise from 10% of sales this year to 70% by 2030 – alongside the potential 2030 production ban, and they just can’t foresee how the situation is going to be resolved.

This is not a scenario where fleets are against zero emissions vehicles – almost all want to play their part in creating cleaner air and minimising the impact of climate change – but they believe that the electric vans on offer currently are simply not fit for their needs.

You cannot force companies to buy vehicles they don’t want. Certainly, we speak to more fleets that are planning to continue to operate diesel vans in perpetuity than those who see electrification from 2030 as a viable option.

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