Amendments to ZEV van driver licence flexibility - what it means for operators

Firms that use any commercial vehicle will be well aware of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, with vehicle manufactures ensuring all vans produce zero emissions by 2035. The UK will become the first country in the world to commit to phasing out new, non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles weighing up to 26t by 2035, with all new HGVs sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2040.

The proposals in this consultation relate to zero emission vans which have a maximum authorised mass (MAM) is 3.5t to 4.25t

The consultation will look at several facets that should be heavily considered not just by officials but also the industry as they answer this call to action. It suggests some good, bad and interesting changes which I think van operators would be very interested to hear.

For one, the consultation asks whether the annual testing of ZEV vans from the heavy vehicle testing system to the MOT network, with the tests used for 3t to 3.5t goods vehicles put in place.

This presents a problem. There has been historical difficulty in HGV Testing availability. Although this has been somewhat alleviated, putting additional vehicles into this testing network would hamper progress made and harm both van and haulage companies.

Interestingly, the consultation also suggests the removal of ZEV vans with a maximum weight of 3.5t to 4.25t (and when used with a trailer to 7t) from the requirements for tachograph use, assimilated drivers’ hours rules, and specific road transport working time rules.

This would be different to the standard rules where any vehicle combination (van and trailer) over 3.5t combined weight and used for hire and reward are required to use a tacho (unless covered by an exemption). This change would certainly be of help to operators – who I’m sure would be thankful for less admin.

Lastly, this consultation proposes changes to annual testing schedules for ZEV vans, with a MAM of 3.5t to 4.25t, so their first test is after three years from first registration (and annually thereafter).

This is actually a very good suggestion. A three-year MOT cycle after registration would make ZEV van regulations in line with petrol and diesel variants, while also reducing the additional burden on the operator and the testing network. If this is brought in this could potentially ease strains on workshops and up efficiency for commercial vehicles as a whole.

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