Over three million van drivers – 1-in-10 workers – are at risk of being left behind in the transition to cleaner, greener vehicles, unless the Government takes steps to support the move to Zero-Emission vans. That was the overriding message from an open letter to the Chancellor last week, ahead of the Spring Budget on Wednesday 6 March.
The letter forms part of the Zero Emission Van Plan campaign, fronted by the BVRLA in collaboration with Logistics UK, Recharge UK, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), and The EV Café. A host of leading fleet operators and van manufacturers also gave their support to the activity. They included:
- Stellantis
- Ford
- The AA
- dpd
- Eric Wright Group
- Fleet 200 Strategy Network
- iss
- John Lewis Partnership
- Royal Mail
- SSE
The need for increased fiscal support, improved charging, and the removal of regulatory barriers were emphasised in the letter and are backed up in the full Zero Emission Van Plan. It highlighted that vans account for nearly a fifth of miles driven on UK roads and represent a considerable opportunity to reduce emissions and support the government’s transport decarbonisation strategy.
With the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate coming in from January 2024, the UK is already behind schedule. The Mandate requires 10% of new van registrations in 2024 to be on zero-emission vehicles. The equivalent portion in 2023 was 5.9%, while data for January recorded just 4.9% of new vans registered were ZEVs.
The Zero Emission Van Plan was launched on this backdrop and is calling for the government to take immediate steps to support the transition to electric vans.
BVRLA members can get involved by sharing the Plan with their local MP to raise awareness and prompt further discussion. The association has created an online tool to make finding an MP and writing to them as quick and easy as possible.
