Spring Budget overlooks the needs of electric van operators

The Zero Emission Van Plan Coalition has expressed disappointed that the Spring Budget lacked any concrete measures to support operators moving to electric vans.

A Zero Emission Van Plan was presented to Westminster at a parliamentary event last month, which called for greater fiscal support, improved charging infrastructure and for the removal of regulatory barriers to enable the switch to zero-emission vans.

The Van Plan is headed by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), with the support of the Association of Fleet Professionals, Logistics UK, Recharge UK, EV Café, and Fleet News.

The Spring Budget, however, failed to address the needs outlined in the Van Plan.
 
A spokesperson for the Zero Emission Van Plan, said: “The Chancellor is ignoring the fact that the van sector needs urgent support to adopt zero-emission vehicles. Vans account for about a fifth of the miles driven in the UK every year, the vast majority of which are driven by polluting models. While there were some positive moves to support van operators today, the van sector remains behind on decarbonisation.
 
“Cost is a major barrier to adoption. The discrepancy between affordability of EVs vs diesel equivalents is prohibitive. The Zero Emission Van Plan is clear in how that gap can be closed. The Chancellor missed a golden opportunity to act. Increased fiscal support via extending the Plug-in Van Grant, or introducing new measures, are essential. We will continue to push for such changes until tangible progress is made.”
 
Those working in the fleet sector are being encouraged to support the Plan and share its recommendations. A simple online tool allows individuals to quickly send the Plan to their local MP to raise awareness, while fleet operators can also complete a very short online poll to strengthen the data the coalition is putting to decision makers.