Nearly 20 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved a year if every van in the UK was fully electric, according to Vauxhall.

Vauxhall’s Vivaro Electric was the best-selling eLCV model in 2022

Using official government and SMMT data, the vehicle maker calculated vans account for 18.2% of the UK’s annual transport-related CO2 emissions and 4.6% of the country’s total annual carbon emissions.

Figures reveal there are 4.77 million petrol/diesel vans on UK road with an average annual mileage of 13,000. This means van drivers in the UK cover more than 62 billion miles annually. Based on the SMMT’s average new van emissions estimate of 195.7g/km CO2 as the fleet average emissions, Vauxhall calculated annual emissions exceeding 19.5 million tonnes of CO2 – which would be eliminated with the shift to electric vans.

Take-up of eLCVs rising; more than 16,000 were delivered to businesses and customers across the country in 2022, a rise of 31.2% over the previous year. Vauxhall’s Vivaro Electric was the best-selling eLCV model; the brand offers fully electric versions of all its van models as it works to becoming an electric-only vehicle manufacturer from 2028.

However, eLCVs accounted for just 5.9% of total van registrations in 2022, well behind the 16.6% 2022 market share for electric cars. And for the first quarter of 2023, the figure has actually fallen to 5.1%.

That’s roughly half the 10% figure proposed for 2024 in the consultation on the ZEV mandate, which will require car and van makers to have a minimum percentage of their new vehicle sales as zero emission to help drive net zero goals through increased electric vehicle take-up.

James Taylor, Vauxhall managing director, said: “Vauxhall is fully committed to electrification, and remains one of few manufacturers in the UK already able to offer fleets a zero-emissions-in-use vehicle across its entire LCV range. Our research highlights the importance in electrifying the country’s businesses to help meet the UK’s net zero targets, and comes at a time when the UK is considering imposing further measures to increase electric vehicle uptake.”

As well as pushing zero-emission vehicle take-up, the ZEV mandate is expected to give charge point operators the confidence to invest in the charging network, helping to overcome issues with the number of charge points and suitability for van usage to catch up with the commitments of vehicle manufacturers.

The ZEV mandate consultation is open until 11:45pm on 24 May 2023. To have your say, click here.