ZEV Mandate review must support van sales
The government must make electric vans a priority if it announces a review of the ZEV Mandate.
It has been reported that the government will soften ZEV Mandate targets following pressure from industry stakeholders and bodies.
However, FleetCheck has said any review needs to take account of struggling electric van sales. Latest sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that electric car sales are just five per cent behind ZEV Mandate targets, but electric vans sales are lagging 16 per cent behind.
Strategic relationship manager Barrie Wilson said: “There has been extensive reporting during the last few days that a shake-up of the ZEV Mandate is imminent but the conversation has almost exclusively been about cars.
“To an extent, that is understandable. There are roughly 35 million cars in the UK compared to five million vans. Electrification of the car parc will affect many more people and thanks to the investment needed, is having a huge impact on the viability of the UK motor industry.
“However, vans are an essential component of UK industry and so far, have failed to catch on in electric form to anything like the extent the government’s targets are demanding. We need to ensure they are not an afterthought in any revision of the ZEV Mandate.”
Challenges
Costs, poor residual values and a shortage of appropriate charging infrastructure are all slowing electric van sales. Meanwhile, with fleets making up the majority of electric vans sales, there are also concerns around range and the impact of carrying a heavy payloads.
Barrie continued: “Range, payload and cost are all improving but not really quickly enough to make a massive impact on electric van acceptance. Even if the government introduced higher incentives on current designs, which is unlikely, they still wouldn’t be suitable for most applications.
“We speak to many fleet operators who say if new diesel vans are not available, they are more likely to continue to operate their existing vehicles for as long as possible rather than electrify. Any potential rethinking of the ZEV Mandate needs to reflect this reality.”
