Reinstate 2030 ICE deadline for cars not vans, says AFP

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is calling for realism from the Government on electric vehicle (EV) policy.

The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed to Fleet News this week that it will be restoring the 2030 phase-out date for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

However, it remains unclear whether the deadline will also be brought forward from 2035 to 2030 for fossil fuelled vans.

The AFP says that reintstating the 2030 phase-out date for the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vans is not “practicable”.

AFP board member, Lorna McAtear, said: “Fleets and the manufacturers that supply them need to take a real world look at the rate of EV adoption in light of the experience of fleets over the last few years.

“Labour have said they will restore the 2030 target on EV manufacturing. It is now clear that this is possible for cars but just not practicable for vans.

“There are too many hurdles and the products available do not meet the needs of enough businesses.

“There is an argument for leaving the current 2035 target in place for all vehicles, with the ZEV mandates continuing, but if there is a return to 2030, it should be for cars only.”

The AFP’s call for realism from Government with its EV policy is one of five easy wins identified by the trade body

McAtear explained: “Everyone has a list of expensive measures for the incoming Government and we would certainly like to see some of those enacted, such as a reduction or removal of VAT on public charging, but we thought it would be a useful exercise to put ourselves in the position of the Government which, we all know, faces very real restrictions on spending at the moment.”

Feedback from AFP members also shows that too many drivers and sometimes fleet managers don’t understand the charging capabilities of their vehicles, and it is not always easy to get hold of accurate information.

“A simple solution would be to have a label on the inside of the charge port flap that informs the driver of the maximum capability that vehicle has for AC and DC charging – for example, up to 11kwh AC and 115kwh DC,” said McAtear.

“This will go a long way to helping drivers pick the right chargers for the capabilities of their vehicles.

“Manufacturers may push back on this idea as they can subsequently upgrade charging capabilities over the air but we believe there is a strong argument for providing information that is accurate at the time of sale.”

Furthermore, the association wants a standardised battery state of health check to be introduced – a measure included in the Labour manifesto.

“There is a general acceptance that the second hand EV market needs help and an easy way of creating a higher degree of consumer confidence would be a Government-backed battery state of health check that provides a statement of the kind of performance that used car and van buyers can expect from their vehicle,” continued McAtear.

“In our opinion, this is something that can’t happen too soon.”

Fourth on the AFP list is a push on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) battery storage, which has huge potential for the future in terms of grid decarbonisation and could also provide a boost to new and used EV sales as consumers become aware of the possibilities and benefits.

“EVs are big batteries on wheels and have a huge potential future part to play in making wider use of renewables more practical,” explained McAtear.

“However, while V2G is currently possible, it is something that has yet to enter the mainstream, even though there are now a million EVs on UK roads.

“We’d like to see clear Government policy that is designed to promote V2G, spreading awareness of the concept among both new and used EV buyers, and the general public in a wider sense.

“Especially, we’d like to see clarification of where and when this type of battery storage can be used and for which applications.”

The final easy win is a relaxation of the planning laws to make installation of charge points faster and easier, both for businesses wanting their own chargers and by charge point operators for use by the public.

“Planning rules at all levels are slowing down the rate that charge points can be installed right across the board,” said McAtear.

“While we understand that this would need the backing of the grid, we would like to see much of the bureaucracy removed and planning regulations revised to speed up deployment.

“Planning is an area where Keir Starmer has promised to take off the brakes for the UK, and charge points should be part of this policy.”

In addition to these ideas, the AFP has already said that it would like to see the new Government introduce benefit-in-kind (BIK) company car tax tables through to 2029-30.

It is now nearly two years since the current tables were announced and they only run until the 2027/28 tax year, meaning fleets buying vehicles today don’t know the tax rate their drivers will be charged towards the end of the decade.

“This is, in itself, a further easy win,” said McAtear. “It would cost little or nothing but would mean that fleets buying company cars on longer leases during the next year or so would have certainty about the tax their drivers are paying through to the end of the decade.”