Calls for major car tax changes to hand savings to these road users

Motoring experts have led calls for immediate car tax changes, which could see some road users benefit from massive discounts. Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), stressed a new Government incentive was needed to boost the take-up of electric vans. A new scheme could help businesses bridge the cost of brand-new electric vans to grow the number of clean vehicles on UK streets.

Plug-in grants and salary sacrifice schemes have proven pivotal in increasing demand for electric cars, but vans desperately need a boost. Data shows there are around 60,000 electric vans on UK roads compared to over one million zero-emission cars.

Speaking to FleetNews, he said: “What is needed, in our view, is some form of Government incentive for fleets to adopt electric vans.

“Company car electrification has been powered in large part by tax advantages such as reductions in benefit-in-kind and road fund licence.

“In a matter of a few short years, these advantages have meant that today’s default company car choice is electric.

“While we’re unlikely to see any moves this generous directed at the van sector, there do need to be inducements that create demand momentum around the electric van market.”

Data from New Automotive’s Electric Car Count suggests businesses were starting to take an interest in electric vans.

According to the data, overall van registrations fell 14.9% in April as the number of electric van registrations surged.

Figures were up by an impressive 102.6% year-on-year, capturing a 9.24% market share for the month.

However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have previously suggested that extra incentives were needed to convert so-called "electric sceptics".

They stressed that the roll-out of better infrastructure, cost-effective insurance and EV maintenance provisions would help boost the transition among vans.

Mike previously explained: “Government investment to convert the ‘electric sceptics’ would energise business across the country far beyond just the automotive sector.

“Every stakeholder would benefit from the impact of consumer incentives which, when combined with binding targets for chargepoint rollout and more flexible regulation, would create a virtuous circle of rising demand that stimulates green growth.”