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Ten years ago, just six electric cars were available, accounting for less than one in 1,000 new car registrations. Today, there are now more than 140 models on the market, with electric vehicles (EVs) accounting for more than one in six new cars and one in 28 vans registered.

However, just one in 80 cars on the road runs on electricity, with the UK aiming for one in three by 2030 if net zero ambitions are to be met, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The challenges are examined in Plugging the Gap, an updated blueprint for delivering the zero emission transition from the SMMT. 

Private motorists accounted for just a third of new plug-in registrations in 2021, with uptake far higher among businesses and fleets.

The SMMT says that this is down to fleets benefitting from “generous fiscal incentives”, such as low benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax.

Meanwhile, purchase incentives have been rolled back dramatically over the past year, with the UK’s EV adoption now falling behind some European markets which offer more attractive incentive packages.

Further growth in this market, however, depends as much on charge point provision as affordability, says the SMMT.

Research it has carried out reveals that the ratio of public standard chargers to electric vehicles has rapidly deteriorated, with just one charger for every 32 plug-ins across the UK compared with one for every 16 just 12 months ago, and significant regional variations.

The industry is calling on all parties integral to the drive to zero, including charge point operators and Government, to help ‘plug the gap’ between infrastructure roll-out and uptake.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The UK automotive industry has set out its intent – to meet the challenge of net zero – and has backed that ambition with cash, investing massively during Britain’s first electric decade.

“As we enter the second, the stakes are higher, with some of the world’s toughest regulation coming, regulation that will seek to determine the pace of change in a market constantly buffeted by headwinds.

“But mandates on manufacturers alone will not drive the market. Delivering net zero needs a competitive industry and a competitive market.

“We need a holistic strategy with binding targets on charge point provision, attractive fiscal and purchase incentives, and a reliable, accessible and affordable user experience.

“We need a universal right to charge electric vehicles, for all drivers, wherever they live, wherever they travel and whatever their needs.”

SMMT has advocated a nationally coordinated, locally delivered infrastructure plan, with binding targets for charge points that match those imposed on vehicle manufacturers.

Overseen by a regulator, such a plan would put consumers at the heart of the transition, accelerating charge point provision and addressing charging anxiety among drivers and businesses.

It would also help the one in three households that do not have off-street parking and would therefore be reliant on public charging, to make the switch, it says.

Furthermore, a vibrant, well-supported market would help attract greater industrial investment, creating jobs and supporting economic growth.

Gigafactory investment, it says, is essential if the UK is to achieve the 60GWh capacity it needs by 2030, a capability that would support the production of around one million electric vehicles a year.

This, in turn, would enable the industry to exploit the benefits of the UK’s ambitious trade agenda, maximising locally originating content to achieve tariff-free exports to key growth markets worldwide, and help Britain to realise a zero-emission future with greater resilience and self-sufficiency in battery production and the wider electrified supply chain.

While overall UK gigafactory capacity is currently just 2GWh, major battery production commitments that will come online in the coming years are estimated to take UK capability to around 41GWh by 2027.

The EU, meanwhile, is forecast to have a capacity of up to 1.5TWh by 2040, with more than 25 gigafactories either under construction or in development.

For the UK to become a location of choice for potential investors, therefore, Government must create the right conditions, with a streamlined process for obtaining the necessary permits and licences, easy access to skilled and productive labour, and competitively priced clean energy, concludes the SMMT.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Egg has launched a new subscription-based charging offer for drivers of electric vehicles (EVs), which provides a home charger for a fixed monthly fee.

The service costs £30 per month and includes installation and maintenance.

“The reality of buying an electric vehicle is that it involves a lot of research and a considerable upfront cost. EVs are an unknown entity to most drivers and the second-hand market is presently very small, though growing,” said Egg CEO Thomas Newby.

“Installing a home charge point should be the most painless part of the process. Egg’s proposition is simple – one affordable, monthly cost that keeps your car moving and offers complete peace of mind.”  

The launch comes as the government’s Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) draws to a close for many homeowners on March 31, 2022. The EVHS grant has now been dropped by the Government. It contributed up to 75% of the cost of installing a home charge point, capped at £350. 

Without EVHS, the average cost of hardware and installation for a fast home charge point is estimated to be in excess of £1,000.

Egg says its monthly subscription ensures that EV owners and drivers can continue to access home-charging without a hefty upfront cost, even after the EVHS scheme has now ended.

Paying monthly offers flexibility for customers – especially those who might be considering a house move, or company car drivers who are personally responsible for the cost of installing a home charger if opting for an EV.

Along with home chargers for electric vehicles, Egg also offers renewable energy solutions for homes and businesses, including solar panels and battery storage. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Highways England bosses will not face corporate manslaughter charges for deaths caused by two collisions on all-lane running sections of the M1 in South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire Police concluded that the organisation cannot be held liable for the offence because, in legal terms, it did not owe road users a ‘relevant duty of care’ under the terms set out in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

The investigation was launched following concerns expressed by senior coroner Nicola Mundy at the pre-inquest review into the death of Nargis Begum.

Begum was killed in September 2018 when another vehicle collided with her husband’s Nissan Qashqai, which had broken down on the M1.

A separate collision, which led to the deaths of Jason Mercer and Alexandru Murgeanu in June 2019, was also investigated by South Yorkshire Police. In both instances, the lack of a hard shoulder was considered a contributing factor to the deaths.

Assistant chief constable Sarah Poolman, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives on the smart motorway in South Yorkshire. Families and campaigners are fighting with dignity and admirable determination in their search for answers and action following these tragedies.

“The force launched a ‘scoping exercise’ to ascertain whether there is a reasonable suspicion that Highways England may have committed the criminal offence of corporate manslaughter. Within our terms of reference, we also included the incident which led to the deaths of Jason Mercer and Alexandru Murgeanu.

“As part of our work, we sought specialist advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Having considered the CPS advice, we have concluded that in the circumstances, Highways England cannot be held liable for the offence of corporate manslaughter.”

Following the death of Begum, a death by careless driving investigation was launched into the driver of the vehicle involved in the collision. A file was submitted to the CPS and charges were not authorised. The driver was subsequently released with no further action.

Lorry driver Prezemyslaw Szuba was jailed for 10 months for causing the deaths of Mercer and Murgeanu by careless driving. He claimed the collision would have been avoidable if there had been a hard shoulder.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is halting the rollout of new, all-lane running smart motorway schemes until five years of safety data is available.

The move has been welcomed by MPs and campaigners, who have been calling for the construction of new smart motorways to be paused while safety concerns were addressed.

A Transport Committee report, published last year, concluded there was not enough safety and economic data to justify continuing with the Government’s plans to roll out an additional 300 miles of all-lane running motorway by 2025.

The report said Government plans to remove the hard shoulder from all future smart motorways and use the lane for live traffic are “premature”.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Demands on the UK’s electricity network are set to rocket as the country moves closer to the ambition of a net zero economy by 2050.

National Grid estimates overall electricity consumption in that year will be 890tWh, almost three times as high as 2020’s figure of 304tWh.

Much of this will be down to the increased use of electricity in energy-consuming sectors such as industry and heating, but the electrification of the UK’s road transport network will also have a significant impact.

National Grid expects EVs to account for more than 80tWh. “Questions will be raised about how they will be charged as the demand on the electricity supply grows,” it says in its 2021 Future Energy Scenarios report.

“Smart charging, where EV owners release some control on the best time to charge to third parties or automation based on price, will be an effective tool to support the local and national electricity networks.”

The most basic form of smart charging allows the user to manually set the times a vehicle will be charged, allowing them to make savings by taking advantage of the time-of-use tariffs which feature lower electricity prices at times of high supply and low demand, such as at night between 1am and 5am.

Fleets which operate a back-to-base model where vehicles are plugged in at a depot can use this to stagger charging times to help avoid a costly electricity network upgrade that may be needed if all their EVs are charged at the same time.

“In some cases, the cost to electrify the site could be higher than the cost of the vehicles, making the transition commercially unviable,” says Nicole Thompson, director of social innovation and head of co-creation partnerships for Hitachi Vantara.

The next step in smart charging is to use artificial intelligence so the chargers communicate with the electricity network to respond to changes in the level of supply, demand and cost.

For this, the user would specify the level of charge required and the time the vehicle is needed by, and the system would manage the flow of energy to the battery to ensure this happens.

Greater flexibility

“There is much more renewable energy coming on to the grid now and that’s really good news for a whole host of reasons,” says Ben Fletcher, associate director of EV at smart battery hardware and software company Moixa.

“It also means that having the flexibility where you can decide what vehicle is – and isn’t – charging and work with the grid is super important in probably a way that hasn’t been as important before, especially with the size of EV fleet that’s coming.

“That’s where the smartness comes in. There are electricity tariffs which are helping to support like Octopus Agile, which tracks the wholesale price of electricity.

“That’s a ground-breaking tariff and is a fantastic tool that has the ability to change every half-hour, but you have to be on top of it and tracking what’s going on as well as triangulating it back to when you actually need your vehicle to be ready by.

“The smartness will allow customers to make the most of these kinds of tariffs alongside the energy companies and the National Grid in the transition to more and more renewable energy.”

Moixa is a partner in the EV Fleet-centred Local Energy System (EFLES) project, which aims to show how artificial intelligence (AI) can break down the barriers to electrification for fleet operators by maximising the cost and carbon savings from EVs.

Supported by the Government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund for Research and Innovation, other project partners are UK Power Networks, UPS and Cross River Partnership.

It builds on the Smart Electric Urban Logistics (SEUL) trial from 2017 to 2019 which saw Cross River Partnership, UPS and UK Power Networks develop charging technology at UPS’s Camden depot to meet the challenge of charging an EV fleet without a costly upgrade of the local power network.

“We started off with EVs in London back in 2008 and had an expensive power upgrade, which could take us up to 63 EVs,” says Claire Thompson-Sage, sustainable development co-ordinator at UPS.

“We reached that limit in 2017, so we worked with the SEUL project to develop smart grid technology to enable us to have a fully-electrified fleet in London, which we’re aiming towards now.

“The (EFLES) project is built on looking at how we can optimise the power.”

Thompson-Sage says that, as UPS charges its vehicles overnight, it uses very little power during the day and it will use the project to look at how it manages its energy systems, including on-site solar panels and static battery storage.

Capital expenduture savings of 70%

The SEUL project identified capital expenditure savings of around 70% through using a smart charging solution instead of upgrading the local electricity network.

ELFES takes this a step further and the integration of Moixa’s GridShare platform will monitor and analyse a multitude of data sources at the depot including energy prices, power demand and weather forecasts to optimise charging for when energy is cleanest and cheapest, while also using on-site energy storage and solar power generation.

“SEUL was about managing capital costs, but what about operational costs?,” asks Sefinat Otaru, ELFES project manager, Cross River Partnership.

“This was how this project came about and, once it wraps up next year, it’s going to be very much about sharing the results and just helping other organisations that are interested make connections with the right people so that, hopefully, they will pick up the ball and keep it rolling.”

Smart charging for fleets is also the subject of a number of other trials, such as the Fleet Connected Smart Charging (FCSM) project.

This is led by data science company Miralis Data, energy management company Envisij and EV charging firm Mina.

It aims to produce a smart charging solution to optimise the electricity capacity of a site to enable fleets to transition to EVs quicker and more efficiently.

During the project, which has secured funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, Envisij will report real-time and projected site power capacity and site demand, while Miralis will devise a smart charging solution to optimise the remaining capacity, charging vehicles within cost and capacity parameters. The solution is expected in 2022.

The Government has also identified smart charging as having a key role to play and the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 gives it the powers through secondary legislation to mandate that all charge points sold or installed in the UK have smart functionality.

In 2019, it introduced the requirement that all Government-funded home EV charge points must use smart technology and it is now proposing that home and workplace chargers installed from May must be pre-programmed to switch off during peak hours (8-11am and 4-10pm) to ease pressure on the National Grid.

Owners and fleets will be able to override the pre-set times to take account of night workers and people who have different schedules.

Smart charging not for all

While the number of smart chargers – both at homes and at businesses – are rapidly increasing, smart charging may not suit all drivers, says Fletcher, adding: “There will be some people who will take their vehicle home and they might be on 24-hour call, so they need to charge the vehicle as quickly as possible.

“For them, it’s go home and put the vehicle on charge immediately because that person needs the confidence that if they are called out in the middle of the night, they’ll be able to respond.

“Other drivers will have a much more predictable duty cycle. They may get home at 6pm and leave at 7am the next day, giving a window of opportunity where the charging can be optimised against the relevant tariff to make sure that both work in terms of money and CO2.

“That would benefit the fleet manager in terms of the costs that are being put in, but it’s also benefiting the user because they’re not thinking about any charging schedules.”

National Grid’s Future Energy Scenario also highlights the role vehicle-to-grid (V2G) – which enables battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to provide energy storage services to the electricity network – can play.

This allows users to plug their BEV in to charge and, potentially, sell any surplus electricity back to the local and national networks at peak times.

The Project Sciurus trial found the simulated annual revenue for a driver using V2G was £340 compared with using an unmanaged charger. In contrast, smart charging could capture £120 from tariff optimisation.

The initiative, which project partner Cenex says is the world’s largest V2G trial, began in 2018 and has more than 320 V2G units installed in UK homes.

Participants are able to set their preferences for charging parameters and remain in control of when their vehicles are ready to use. They get paid a fixed rate for every kWh exported to the grid.

In its Project Sciurus White Paper, Cenex analysed the plug-in behaviour of users over a 12-month period, looking at different user-types, and found that, although domestic V2G propositions are suitable for a range of drivers, ‘utility style fleet vans’ are among the prime candidates for the technology.

The low-carbon consultancy describes this category as small vans used to carry small volumes of tools and equipment between domestic appointments.

They are owned by a company, but kept by the driver and charged at home or on public networks.

However, Cenex points out the home the vehicle would be connected to would not be the property of the company and, therefore, is unlikely to support V2G activities with the vehicle at the premises unless there are financial or other benefits for the organisation.

V2G drawbacks

While there are other benefits to a fleet opting to install V2G technology, for example the potential to preserve the health of a battery, there are also drawbacks.

Currently the cost of a V2G charging unit is around £4,000 to £6,000, which is significantly more than a smart charger.

Other trials are also taking place in the UK, such as Western Power Distribution’s Electric Nation initiative, which features 100 Nissan EV owners in the Midlands, south-west England and South Wales.

Some industry figures are less convinced about the role V2G will play in the future of the wider charging ecosystem.

“The way I explain it to people is that smart charging gives you 90% of the benefits of V2G for 10% of the complexity,” says Erik Fairbarn, founder and chief executive of Pod Point.

“For that reason, I don’t think it’s a very significant part of charging in most cases, but if you’re talking about depots of buses or fleets of vehicles in a particular location, there are use cases there which I think it could make sense in.

“But if we’re talking broadly across the charging ecosystem, it’s probably one to keep an eye on but I wouldn’t expect much to happen there in the short-term.”

Fletcher adds: “The answer to the question ‘will V2G work for me?’ is ‘it depends’. It depends on the type of fleet and the way the vehicles are used.

“There will be points when the grid is under immense stress but to have the benefit of feeding power back to the grid at those times, the vehicles actually need to be plugged in and available.

“That will absolutely fit in with how the duty cycle of some fleets work, but for other fleets it might be more difficult.

“When you’re talking about BEVs and V2G it’s easy to fall into the trap of talking about them as batteries with wheels, but the key point to remember here is that people actually buy vehicles to get from point A to point B.

“That has to be at the heart of running a BEV. The smartness and V2G needs to be there to enable the vehicles to move things or people from A to B as easily and efficiently as possible, not to have supporting the grid as its main function.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is being urged to adopt EU vehicle safety measures that are due to come into effect in July.

The package of 15 integrated measures includes better direct vision in HGVs, automated emergency braking that detects pedestrians and cyclists, and intelligent speed adaptation.

The UK supported these measures, which apply to new cars, vans, lorries and buses, until it left the EU. After Brexit the new rules will not automatically apply.

A group of former Transport Ministers, including serving MP Sir Peter Bottomley, Father of the House of Commons, say the UK now needs adopt the regulations to avoid putting the safety of its road users at risk.

David Davies, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), which advises the Government, said: “There has been little progress in reducing road deaths and injuries over the past decade (apart from during the 2020 lockdown).

Here is a package of measures that would kick start a new chapter. It comes at almost no cost to government or the motorist. We support the call from former transport ministers for the government to at least match the standards that will apply in Northern Ireland. It could demonstrate the UK’s new independence by going further and faster.”

The measures have the support of road safety stakeholders and the UK automotive industry, as compliance with these standards will be a requirement for exporting vehicles to Europe from July this year.

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU, they will also apply to Northern Ireland.

In a letter to Shapps, the former Transport Ministers said not adopting the new standards “risks putting the UK automotive industry at a competitive disadvantage.”

The Government consulted on new vehicle regulations in November 2021. A response has not yet been published.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A major new national campaign, which is being backed by the RAC, will initially focus its efforts on reducing the VAT paid on public charging by electric vehicle (EV) drivers.

FairCharge says EV owners who are not able to charge at home pay four times more tax for their electricity from public on-street networks.

Currently, VAT on domestic electricity is charged at 5% whereas those using public charge points have to pay 20% VAT.

FairCharge and the RAC believe this is an unnecessary barrier to switching to an electric car for the 38% of people who, according to RAC research, are not able to charge an EV at home as they would have no choice but to rely on the public charging network.

RAC director of EVs, Sarah Winward-Kotecha, said: “There are many issues with public chargers such as cost, availability, reliability, speed of charging and ease of payment, which have the potential to either accelerate or slow down EV adoption depending on how they are handled.

“Our decision to support FairCharge is all about making sure that charging provision in all shapes and forms is both fit for purpose and fair.”

Scrutiny of charging tariffs

FairCharge will also campaign to ensure electricity at public charge points is priced fairly, which it says will help those needing to recharge on longer journeys and will avoid further penalising those who do not have access to home charging.

There will also be scrutiny of charging providers’ domestic and public charging tariffs.

FairCharge, which is spearheaded by automotive journalist Quentin Willson, will also campaign to ensure the UK has: the right EV-related policies for drivers, the environment and the economy; and delivers a future-proofed high-speed public charging network to enable business use of EVs and as many drivers as possible have easy access to a high-speed charger.

It also wants to make buying an EV more affordable by promoting and encouraging low-cost funding options for both new and used EVs so they can be driven by the widest socio-demographic groups possible; and for the Government to assist private charging providers in building extensive and reliable charging networks through a range of support mechanisms.

Furthermore, FairCharge is campaigning for help to educate and inform consumers in all aspects of EV ownership, dispel myths and promote new incentives to hasten the adoption of EVs by both the public and business.

Winward-Kotecha added: “We also know from our research that drivers have concerns about going electric beyond charging, so we are pleased to see that FairCharge will be working to make driving an EV accessible to all as well ensuring the UK economy and society as whole benefit from the transition to electric driving.”

Findings from research for the RAC Report on Motoring 2021 support many of the aims of the FairCharge campaign.

More than half of drivers (53%) say they do not think they would be able to make long journeys as easily as in an electric car as they could in a conventionally fuelled one – an issue that is tied in with the perceived lack of fast and reliable charging infrastructure.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of drivers said that they do not think there are enough public charging points, while seven-in-10 drivers (72%) would want to charge their cars at a public forecourt just as they would a petrol and diesel car.

Willson said: “One of FairCharge’s first missions is to stop those who use public charge points having to pay VAT at 20% in stark contrast to the 5% rate on domestic electricity for those who are fortunate enough to be able to charge at home.

“This isn’t just unfair, it’s a policy mistake that will hinder EV take-up and impact on exactly those who we want to see enjoy the benefits of an EV.”

Yesterday (Tuesday, February 1), FairCharge held a reception at the House of Commons for MPs interested in finding out more about the campaign.

In addition, Willson has started a petition on Change.org calling on the Government to do more to help make EVs affordable for everyone and put in place a national charging network so that drivers can be confident of life with an electric car.

In January, the RAC added a pure EV to its breakdown fleet by putting a Renault Zoe Van E-Tech into service.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Chancellor’s decision to cut fuel duty by 5 pence per litre (ppl) has been broadly welcomed by the fleet and leasing industry, but many have questioned whether he went far enough.

Paul Hollick, chair, Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), said: “The Spring Statement really does serve as a point of focus for the rising costs that all fleets are currently facing, especially given poorer growth and inflation forecasts.

“Literally every part of the cost equation that goes into operating cars and vans are facing substantial rises.

“While the Chancellor has taken some actions that will serve to offer some mitigation, such as the reduction in fuel duty, none of these will really alter the overall direction of travel.

“The AFP view, in general, is that businesses should look to proactively manage their way through this situation and, for many, that will ultimately mean speeding up EV adoption, accessing permanently lower fuel and overall running costs.

“Also, in the light of ongoing electrification, we were hoping to see more news on both the post-2024-25 benefit in kind tables and the road charging schemes that it appears will replace diesel and petrol fuel and vehicle excise duty – but it seems the Government is not yet ready to unveil its plans.”

Philip Nothard, insight and strategy irector at Cox Automotive, said: “We welcome any moves from the Government which reduces costs at the pump for the motorist and for businesses like ourselves who have significant transportation operations.

“We would have welcomed bigger cuts too, as the automotive industry has faced extremely challenging conditions during the last 12 months with the well-documented supply issues affecting new car production.”

Cox Automotive says that if the UK Government had made a more significant cut in fuel duty and followed the example of the Irish government, which confirmed last week that excise duty on fuel in Ireland would be reduced by 20 cents per litre on petrol and 15 cents per litre on diesel, the cost of a 60-litre tank of petrol would have been cut by £10 and diesel by £7.50.

Instead, savings on a tank of fuel in the UK will be around half that amount following the 5ppl fuel duty cut.

“It is disappointing that the UK Government didn’t go further,” he said. “Logistics businesses were already feeling the effects of recent headwinds, which has done little to allay their long-term concerns.

“The Government’s decision to not make deeper cuts in fuel price could lead to price inflation across the entire transportation and logistics industry which is already facing several challenges ahead.”

Matthew Walters, head of consultancy services and customer value at LeasePlan UK, says that the fleet industry is well placed to overcome global economic challenges.

“Not only did we account for half of all new car sales in 2021, but we are also leading the adoption of the cleaner technologies that will define motoring’s future,” he said.

LeasePlan UK also welcomed Sunak’s decision to cut the main rates of fuel duty by 5p to 52.95p a litre.

“With pump prices at record highs – and rising – motorists needed something more than the rate freeze that has persisted for over a decade now,” said Walters. “In this respect, the Chancellor has delivered.

“However, as welcome as this duty cut is, it is likely to offer only limited relief to squeezed budgets. The average cost of a litre of petrol has risen by more than 5p over the past week – if that trend continues, the Chancellor’s discount could effectively be wiped out within days.”

There was no update from the Chancellor on company car tax rates beyond 2024/25, Walters says that, previously, Sunak had a good record on warning businesses and motorists of upcoming benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rates.

However, he said: “That record is starting to tarnish. The rates for 2025-26 and beyond still haven’t been confirmed – meaning that fleets entering into three- or four-year contracts today are unable to plan properly for the future.”

Jon Lawes, managing director at Novuna Vehicle Solutions, agrees. Welcoming the cut in fuel duty, he said: “What UK businesses require now however, is greater clarification on future benefit in kind rates beyond 2025, which will need to be confirmed in the autumn Budget, if not before.”

He added that addressing the cost of EV public charging and plans to ramp up the availability of public charge points will be welcome when the EV Infrastructure Strategy is released.

However, he said: “There is money already on the table that local government could be doing more to use.

“Our own research has found little evidence that a quarter of a billion gross annual capital investment fund granted to the UK’s nine metro mayors is being used to install much needed EV infrastructure.

“We are calling for local Governments to address the EV infrastructure shortage and use their budgets to increase the number of charging points across the UK to support to the UK’s rapidly growing EV market.”

David Bushnell, director of consultancy and strategy at Fleet Operations, says that oil price volatility shows few signs of abating, so fleets must find other ways to ease the financial pressure.

“With the business case for electrification growing ever stronger, fleet fuel strategies should continue to be reviewed, along with cost control measures that can help ease the financial burden – from effective vehicle maintenance and fuel discount structures to more effective mobility management,” he said.

“The Chancellor may have scrapped VAT on home energy-saving measures such as insulation, solar panels and heat pumps but has offered fleet operators nothing in the way of any new incentives to encourage EV take up which may have helped balance out the CO2 impact of the fuel duty rise.”

Louis Rix, chief operations officer and co-founder of car finance platform CarFinance 247, also suggested that the fuel duty cut doesn’t go far enough.

“This will be a drop in the ocean for the average consumer,” he said. “Fuel prices won’t fall to anywhere near affordable, even with the cut.

“The Chancellor has also left fuel station owners in a difficult position; they may be struggling financially too, which could result in consumers seeing no benefit whatsoever from the fuel duty cut.”

He continued: “In today’s statement, the Chancellor needed to implement much more severe cuts to fuel duty to make a difference to Brits’ escalating fuelling costs.

“Driving is just one aspect of a consumer’s personal finance; Sunak’s decision to stick with plans to increase tax contributions by 1.25 percentage points will still be a crippling hit for many workers.

“Reports that the average adult will spend £1,000 more per year in taxable income leave many facing critical choices at home between heating, driving, and even food.”

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “Measures to help address the accelerating cost of living are welcome but business also needs support, especially on energy, investment and skills.

“Time is of the essence as the industry is not yet in recovery, but costs are increasing rapidly, undermining U.K. competitiveness.

“Government could have acted today to help automotive manufacturers alleviate soaring business energy costs and encourage investment.”

He added: “We look forward to working with Government on its proposals for business investment and, especially, super deductions which are highly valued.

“Manufacturers have committed £10.8 billion to UK EV and battery R&D and production in our first ‘electric decade’.

“Driving even more investment will be essential if we are to supercharge automotive manufacturing – and the jobs and economic growth it creates – during its biggest transformation in 100 years.”

David Brennan, CEO at Nexus Vehicle Rental, says that, while the fuel duty cut may offer some relief to individuals and businesses operating their fleets, it is estimated to only be around £3.30 per tank.

“This clearly shows that the Government recognises the need to support individuals and businesses dealing with the rising costs of living, however we acknowledge that this is just one challenge that the industry is currently facing, alongside a great shortage of vehicles and parts that are making manufacture increasingly difficult,” he said.

“It is clear that the government continues to sign-post us towards a green future with the announcement of relief on energy saving measures, with 0% VAT on all energy saving materials, however it was disappointing to not hear of any further support offered to the electric vehicle industry.”

As we move ever-closer to the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, Brennan says that there is still more that needs to be done to support EV manufacturers to ensure they are more affordable for businesses.

“Once again, I must reiterate that enhanced financial support is still needed from the Government to increase affordability of the vehicles and ensure there is suitable infrastructure in place for businesses that decide to make this important transition.”

Nick McClellan, managing director at RAM Tracking, says the fuel duty cut could amount to a saving of around £87 per vehicle per year, based on an annual mileage of around 13,500 miles.

“This reduction is badly needed for drivers and is unsustainable for many small and medium sized business,” he added.

The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) says that the Chancellor has taken a number of positive steps, however, the measures announced “fall short” of supporting businesses as they recover from the pandemic and face current challenges such as “soaring costs”.

On 1 April, the business rates relief will drop from 66% to 50%; additionally, the maximum each business can claim will fall from £2 million to £110,000.

For franchised dealers with more than a handful of sites, this means most of them will pay full rates. The business rates multiplier, meanwhile, will be frozen for 2022/2023.

Sue Robinson, NFDA chief executive, said: “Whilst it is positive that the Government recognised the need to extend the business rates holiday, it is extremely disappointing that the claim rate has been reduced as this will exclude most dealer groups.”

As previously planned, National Insurance for employers and employees will increase by a combined 2.5% from April 2022.

However, the Chancellor has announced the Government will increase the level at which employees start paying national insurance by £3,000 to £12,570.

Robinson said: “Increasing the tax burden on businesses sends the wrong message at the wrong time.

“The rise in National Insurance is a massive blow to small and medium sized franchised dealer groups as they deal with a number of significant challenges including loss of earnings due to vehicle stock and supply issues, as well as staff shortages due to Brexit and Covid-19”.

The Chancellor has stopped short of cutting headline rates of tax for now, despite calls to protect low-and-medium income households from the rising cost of living.

However, he has promised a 1p cut in the rate of Income Tax in 2024 as part of a new long-term tax plan.

Richard Godmon, tax partner at accountancy firm, Menzies LLP, said: “Businesses will like the idea of a new tax plan, providing a long-term view of the fiscal landscape.

“This could help them to plan to make investments and reduce transactional pressures on their business activities.

“However, there isn’t much detail on what the plan will look like, just some promises to extend R&D tax relief and cut Income Tax, so we will have to wait and see.”

He added: “With inflation heading for double digits, doing nothing now was simply not an option for the Chancellor politically.

“The decision to raise the threshold for National Insurance Contributions by £3,000 to £12,570 is a positive step, which means that the planned 1.25% increase, (due to take effect from the start of next month) will have a reduced impact on low earners.

“Cutting fuel duty by five pence is a significant step that will help businesses and households that have been struggling to meet the cost of rising petrol and diesel prices.

“The recent dip in the wholesale prices means that further market-driven reductions in fuel costs are also in the pipeline.”

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement that he wants to cut and reform taxes on business investment.

Capital allowances, it says, can play a crucial role in supporting the transition to zero emission road transport and the BVRLA continues to campaign for a regime that treats rented and leased assets fairly.

BVRLA chief executive, Gerry Keaney, said: “It is great to see that the Government is now open to new ideas on capital allowances. This reform could play a massive role in driving fleet and charging infrastructure investment and we will be pushing for rental and leasing to be treated fairly as an efficient and effective means of financing new assets.”

Spencer Halil, chief commercial officer at Alphabet says that the Chancellor’s fuel duty cut highlights the importance for fleet managers to use this time to look at electrifying their fleets so they can benefit from lower fuel whole life costs.

However, he said: “More support is needed from the Government to help companies navigate the move to lower emission vehicles for longer-term sustainability both financially and for carbon emission targets.

“The fleet industry is still lacking clarity on what will happen to benefit in kind taxes following 2024/25, which we hope to see the Chancellor address in his autumn Budget.”

Peter Golding, managing director of FleetCheck, added: “With inflation now above 6% and fuel prices having risen exponentially in recent months, fleet running costs are unavoidably increasing and the actions of the Chancellor in reducing fuel duty, while welcome, amount to little more than tinkering.

“I think the underlying message for fleets here is a small political one. Following the pandemic, when the Government stepped in and took a high degree of responsibility for keeping the economy on a sure footing, we’re now returning to a more traditional situation when interventions will be much more limited.

“Businesses and their fleets are going to have to mitigate rising costs through more effective management rather than looking for more dramatic forms of external help.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

UK supermarkets plan to pass chancellor Rishi Sunak’s fuel duty reduction on to consumers as fuel prices soar in Britain amid geopolitical tensions.

The chancellor announced a cut to fuel duty to combat soaring prices at petrol pumps after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent costs even higher.

He revealed a temporary 5p per litre reduction until March 2023, the biggest rate cut on record. The move comes into effect at 6pm on Wednesday.

Asda has said it will slash fuel prices by 6p per litre from 6pm on Wednesday following the 5p cut announced by Sunak in the Spring Statement.

It said in a statement that it will pass the 5p drop in fuel duty “straight on to its customers”. It added that it “will reduce the price at the pumps by 6p per litre which includes a 1p reduction in VAT”.

The supermarket added: “This means that motorists will see unleaded move back below 160ppl and diesel to 170ppl.”

Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L) also said it “will be passing on the price reduction to customers”, cutting the price of a litre by 6p which also includes a 1p reduction in VAT.

The grocery store added that the price reduction would come into effect at all Sainsbury’s forecourts on Wednesday evening.

CEO Simon Roberts said: “Sainsbury’s will continue to sell through stock it purchased while the higher fuel duty was in effect but is lowering the price for customers from tonight, so that they can benefit from the Chancellor’s announcement sooner.”

Meanwhile, Morrisons said it would lower prices by 5p per litre. “Following the chancellor’s announcement regarding the 5p duty reduction on fuel, prices at Morrisons petrol station pumps will reduce by 5 pence at 6pm this evening,” the company said.

The average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts on Tuesday was 167.30p, while diesel was 179.72p, with the cost of filling an average 55-litre family car to hit £100, according to figures from RAC.

Despite Sunak’s cut, industry experts said the move represents just a “drop in the ocean” and doesn’t go far enough to protect drivers as prices soar to unprecedented highs at the pumps.

While the RAC welcomed Sunak’s 5p fuel duty cut it said that this was a “drop in the ocean” and that the reduction would take prices back to where they were just over a week ago.

RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes said: “With the cut taking effect at 6pm tonight drivers will only notice the difference at the pumps once retailers have bought new fuel in at the lower rate.

“There’s also a very real risk retailers could just absorb some or all of the duty cut themselves by not lowering their prices.

“Temporarily reducing VAT would have been a more progressive way of helping drivers as the tax is applied at the point the fuel is sold.”

Energy giant BP (BP.L) told Yahoo Finance UK that “the 5p fuel duty cut (6p with VAT) will be passed on at its the sites it operates in line with the chancellor’s announcement”.

The move puts pressure on rival Shell (SHEL.L) and other grocers are also facing more calls to follow suit and reduce fuel prices at UK forecourts. Shares in BP and Shell were up 4.9% and 3.6% respectively.

Luke Bosdet fuel price spokesman for the roadside assistance firm AA, welcomed Sainsburys’ and Asda’s announcement but said other large petrol retailers must follow suit. “[We] definitely need the other supermarkets to step up also, and tonight”.

Tesco (TSCO.L), Shell did not respond to requests for comment from Yahoo Finance UK.  By Graham Hill thanks to Yahoo News

Grey is the UK’s most popular new car colour for fourth consecutive year, followed by black and white, according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The SMMT data shows that 408,155 new grey cars were registered last year, up by 2.8%, equating to one in four new cars sold (24.8%).

Black, which had been the most popular car colour in the UK from 2009 to 2012, was the next most popular colour, equating to one in five new cars (20.5%) sold. White was the third most popular (17.2%).

It means that an incredible 62.4% of all new cars sold in 2021 were painted in one of these monochrome shades, although blue edged closer to the top three, increasing its sales (1.4%) for the first time in five years and trailing just 2,638 units behind white.

The rest of the top 10 remained largely unchanged from 2020, although green overtook orange to gain seventh place, equating to 17,927 cars. Sales of green cars rose for the first time since 2015, with 24% more buyers opting for the colour than in the previous year.

SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, says that, while last year’s new cars might share the same shades as previous years, under the bonnet there has been a real shift, with one in six buyers choosing to go ‘green’.

“With car registrations still low compared to pre- pandemic, helping even more drivers move to greener cars – whatever the actual colour – has never been more important,” he said.

“Incentives are helping move the market and should continue, but the speed of this shift to electric must be matched by an acceleration in the pace of charging infrastructure investment. Drivers should expect to be able to recharge irrespective of wherever they live, work or visit.”

White was the most popular shade for mini-sized and sports cars, while larger dual purpose, luxury saloons and executive cars were, as usual, most likely to be black.

At the niche end of the colour palette, gold, yellow and turquoise were the fastest growing colours, with gold more than tripling its appeal (up 231.8%), yellow up by a third (31.3%) and turquoise up by a fifth (19.2%), although together they accounted for less than one percent of the market (0.9%).

A non-monochrome colour has not been among the UK’s overall top three since blue in 2010, although it was second most popular colour amongst Welsh and Northern Irish new car buyers.

Grey was the top colour in every home nation last year, but more so in England (25.3%), closely followed by Scotland (22.9%), Wales (22.8%), and Northern Ireland (21.7%).

Counties sporting bright-coloured cars included Bedfordshire, the most likely place to see a new pink car, with 66 registrations, while Greater London and Buckinghamshire had the highest numbers of green and turquoise motors, with 1,263 and 238 registrations respectively.

Orange was the new black in the West Midlands, where tangerine-tinted cars accounted for 1,156 registrations, the highest in any UK region.

Scotland was, however, the least likely place to spot a new maroon car, as none were sold in the country. In fact, just 12 buyers across the whole of the UK specified their new car in the colour – the lowest number since 1997.

Consumer preference for grey, which comes in many varying shades, can be attributed to a wide range of reasons; it can be a sleek and deeper tone than other shades, is well-suited to black trims and darker wheels and offers an attractive compromise between the also-popular black and white, with wider resale appeal than brightly coloured cars, so a potentially ‘safer’ choice, especially as it reduces the visibility of dirt more than the other shades.

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

New mobile phone laws while driving will come into force from March 25, with research suggesting many drivers are ignorant of the changes.

It had been thought that the new rules, which ban drivers from using their phones to take photos or videos, scroll through playlists or play games, would take effect alongside changes introduce to the Highway Code from Saturday (January 29).

However, the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that the new rules will take effect from March 25, with the necessary legislation now making its way through Parliament.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “This is a much needed upgrade of the law to help make our roads safer.

“Mobile phones offer many distractions and this sends a clear message that picking them up to use them will not be tolerated.”

The law will also become tougher as the use of smartwatches, tablets and laptops behind the wheel will apply.

King added: “Drivers will be extremely limited on when they can pick up their phone, mainly to call the emergency services when there was no opportunity to safely pull over and to make contactless payments at drive-thrus.

“Being sat in a traffic jam or waiting at the lights is not an excuse, we want people to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.”

The Government announced late last year that it would tighten the rules on the use of mobile phones, making it illegal to use a hand-held device under virtually any circumstance while driving.

It was already illegal to text or make a phone call (other than in an emergency) using a hand-held device while driving.

Anyone caught using their hand-held device while driving will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence.

The Government says that drivers will still be able to continue using a device ‘hands-free’ while driving, such as a sat-nav, if it’s secured in a cradle.

A study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has found that almost half of van drivers are risking a £200 fine and six penalty points on their licence as a result of using a sat nav app on their smartphone.

The research of 1,000 UK van drivers found 46% use an app on their smartphone.

While it is still legal to use sat nav on your mobile phone, it must be safely secured to the dashboard or windscreen, where it must not block your view.

David Hanna, head of sales operations at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “We know that van drivers rely on sat navs to get them from one job to the next, but it’s important they do so legally.”

Previous legislation had made it a criminal offence to use a hand-held mobile phone to call or text while driving, but not for other actions such as taking photos.

The law said that an offence is committed if a driver uses a handheld mobile phone for “interactive telecommunication” while behind the wheel.

The phrase reflected how, when the law was written in 2003, smartphones were not in existence and mobile devices were used for sending texts or making calls.

It has enabled lawyers to successfully argue that using a phone’s camera while driving does not constitute “interactive telecommunication”.

It was brought to a head in 2019, when the Director of Public Prosecutions lodged an appeal with the High Court after Ramsey Barreto had a conviction quashed for filming a crash on his mobile phone.

The 51-year-old was prosecuted and found guilty after police saw him driving past an accident using his phone to make a video. However, he had the conviction overturned at Isleworth Crown Court, after his lawyers successfully argued that the law only banned the use of mobile phones to speak or communicate while behind the wheel.

Publishing its decision in July 2019, the High Court dismissed the appeal, agreeing with Barreto’s lawyers.

Drivers concerned over Highway Code changes

Separate research from Venson Automotive Solutions reveals that not all motorists support Highway Code changes, believing they could create more dangerous situations on UK roads, opposed to reducing them.

According to the Venson survey, 79% of motorists disagree with the change that allows cyclists to pass slower-moving or stationary traffic on the right or left, including at the approach to junctions.

Cyclists will be advised they should proceed with caution, especially when deciding whether it is safe to pass lorries or other large vehicles. The question being asked by motorists is “what is deemed safe?”, says Venson.

However, almost half of respondents agree with the new rule which states drivers should remain behind cyclists and motorcyclists at junctions, even if the cyclist is waiting to turn and are positioned close to the kerb.

Changes include requesting drivers to give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which the driver is turning.  This is supported by 44% of survey respondents.

In addition, drivers will have to give way to pedestrians on a zebra crossing, and to pedestrians and cyclists on a parallel crossing. 

Pedestrians and cyclists will also be allowed to cross the road in front of slow-moving traffic if the changes are approved.

Alison Bell, marketing director for Venson Automotive Solutions, said: “There is a lot of new information for drivers to take onboard.

“It’s essential that businesses operating a fleet of vehicles have a process in place to allow drivers to familiarise themselves with new changes, as well as brush up on existing rules. 

“Businesses and drivers have a duty of care to themselves, other road users and pedestrians. A failure to understand the new rules and correctly implement them could result in financial penalties, law breaking or worse, guilty of an avoidable accident.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News