The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has warned that the Government needs to include incentives for electric van demand in its plans to help the auto industry achieve zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) targets. Ministers recently met with carmakers to discuss the ZEV mandate and plans to end the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030.
Current State of Electric Van Adoption
The ZEV mandate requires manufacturers to ensure that 10% of their van sales are electric by the end of this year. However, fully electric vans currently account for only 5.6% of the market, significantly below the required threshold. AFP chair Paul Hollick stated that “flexibilities” being considered by the Department for Transport, such as adjusting manufacturer factory emissions or including exported UK-made vehicles in the count, would not encourage van fleets to electrify.
Challenges Facing Electric Van Adoption
The AFP’s “Van Plan,” launched with the BVRLA and other parties, highlighted demand issues hindering electric van uptake, including insufficient public and private charging infrastructure, regulatory barriers, and affordability and availability of suitable products. Hollick noted that electric van sales appear to have stalled at around 5%, with fleets refusing to buy them due to practical reasons. “The problem with electric van sales is not that they’re lower than expected, as seen in the electric car market, but that they appear to have stalled altogether around the 5% mark,” he said.
Proposed Solutions
The AFP argues that a significant improvement in electric van technology, particularly in range and payload, is necessary to address fleet objections. Hollick suggested that Government action should focus on areas such as infrastructure, regulation, and financial incentives. “We need to find ways of rapidly making more chargers offering cheap power available in more places and more accessible to vans,” he added. A financial incentive similar to low company car tax rates may be necessary to generate momentum for electric vans.
Government Support
The Government has announced £120 million in funding for 2025/26 to support the purchase of new electric vans through the plug-in vehicle grant. However, Hollick believes that many fleets are planning to retain their existing diesel vans until the situation surrounding electric vans improves, making it sensible to provide genuine financial benefits to offset operational problems.
