The UK Government’s Spring Statement should have contained measures to support electric van adoption, according to Fleet Operations.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered the statement yesterday, without addressing matters raised by the motoring and fleet industries.
Reacting to the statement, Fleet Operations director of consultancy and strategy David Bushnell said: “The Spring Statement marks another missed opportunity to provide the leadership and clarity the fleet sector urgently needs. It offers little in the way of the consistent, long-term support needed to give businesses the confidence to invest and to accelerate fleet decarbonisation.
“The Department for Transport’s recent extension of the Plug-in Van Grant, announced in February as part of a £120 million funding package, was a welcome move — but it’s hard to see this as anything more than a sticking plaster without broader, joined-up policy.
“At the same time, the withdrawal of the VED exemption for electric vans from April 2025 – aligning them with petrol and diesel models – sends a mixed and unhelpful message to operators who have already committed to cleaner transport.
“Treating 4.25t electric vans as HGVs also continues to undermine progress. These vehicles are performing the same tasks as their 3.5t diesel counterparts – the extra weight is in the battery, not the payload.
“While electric car adoption continues to accelerate, the eLCV market is playing catch-up. Regulatory alignment is long overdue if we’re to close that gap and support wider commercial EV uptake.”
