BEDEO calls on stronger incentives for the UK’s eLCV market

  • British-founded fleet electrification specialists, BEDEO, have called on the UK government to consider stronger incentives for the UK’s electric van market, ahead of the Autumn Budget announcement on the 30th of October.
  • In relative contrast to the UK’s passenger electric car market, where some manufacturers are set to meet or exceed the proportion of EVs sold to meet the rising ZEV mandate, market share of electric vans is below where it needs to be by the end of the year.
  • BEDEO, who retrofit existing commercial fleets across Europe with electric powertrains, hope that the government will also expand these incentives to cover the conversion of existing vans to EV.

What will be in store for eLCVs as the October Budget gets closer?

BEDEO has made the warning after it has emerged that so far this year, just 5.1% of LCVs registered in the UK this year were fully electric models. That’s down on last year’s 5.6%, and comes as the industry as a whole is supposed to hit a 10% market share of electric vans within the LCV market by the end of the year. When it comes to the specific year in which new electric vans will become mandatory, the recently elected Labour government has confirmed that a ban on petrol and diesel powered cars will be brought forward to 2030, but any bringing forwarded of the date when it comes to electric vans has not yet been confirmed.

For brand-new electric commercial vehicles, the government does already offer some incentives in the way of the Plug-in Van and Truck Grant. This offers a discount of up to £5,000, depending on the electric van in question, but this grant will expire in the end of March next year – and it’s not yet been confirmed whether a similar scheme will succeed it. Additionally, the exemption to vehicle excise duty on eLCVs will expire in April next year, as will be the case will all other EVs. BEDEO is calling for a similar incentive scheme when it comes to the retrofitting market of electric vans. It cites France as an example, where subsidies of up to €8,000 are offered for each existing ICE-powered vehicle within a business which is retrofitted with an electric powertrain.

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Osman Boyner, Founder and CEO of BEDEO, commented:

“Back in March, the outgoing Conservative government failed to recognise or support the van fleet industry in its Budget. Now the current Labour government must act. We are currently 50 per cent off the target for the ZEV mandate for new electric light commercial vehicles in 2024. Market share is down to 5.1% from 5.6% in 2023 – it needs to be 10%. Retrofitting diesel vans with electric drivetrains can help, but as a tool to electrify, retrofitting needs recognition and support. Electric retrofitting for vans is a crucial solution for businesses, especially as they grapple with costs and operational concerns when transitioning to brand-new electric vans – it just makes sense to retrofit what’s already there to run on electric power.”

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