New car scheme drives Arval staff to make EV switch

A revised company car scheme at Arval has led half its drivers to switch to an electric vehicle (EV), since launching in May.

The “rewired” scheme aimed to speed up the electrification of Arval’s 200-strong fleet and reduce emissions by allowing drivers to change their car to an EV if it was more than 18 months old.

The leasing provider also offered its employees free use of more than 40 charging points at its Swindon head office and provided the option to have a competitively priced home charger installed.

Arval UK HR Director, Ailsa Firth, said: “Because of our revised scheme, almost half of our colleagues with a company car have now switched to electric. 

“One of the key areas we focused on was driver education by making sure we shared key information to help people make an informed decision. This approach has supported widespread adoption of EVs at all levels within the company. I now drive an EV - and the broader uptake is extremely encouraging.

Arval revised its car policy to take into account factors such as cost, choice and CSR, to create a scheme that covers the vast majority of EVs currently available on the market, alongside hybrids, petrol and diesel vehicles.

“We’re regularly providing advice to customers who want a rapid switch to electrification for a large proportion of their fleet, “ said Firth, “our own company car scheme has now turned that guidance into reality, to act as a real life case study from which others can learn.” 

Arval ensured that other elements of its company car scheme, such as cash allowances, whole life cost allowances and whole life methodology, are incorporated into its latest thinking.

With the 0% benefit-in-kind taxation rate in effect for the 2020-21 tax year, Firth expects EV uptake among employees to continue to be very high.