By Patrick Reich, CEO and cofounder of Bonnet

Patrick Reich, CEO and cofounder of Bonnet

We always knew the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles was going to be challenging, but the news of the recent pushback by the Prime Minister was delivered without thought for the thousands of businesses that have been rising to meet it.

As the CEO of a company that is directly supporting fleets to electrify and has raised millions of pounds to further that goal in the UK, the recent news was very disappointing and will undoubtedly make it more difficult for fleet managers to decide when to make the switch.

While on the face of it, the Prime Minister has said the deadline will be pushed back to 2035 – which you may think would equate to a lift and shift by five years – the publication of the ZEV mandate since this decision has revealed that, actually, despite PM’s comments, carmakers will still be required to go 80% electric by 2030.

The decision by the PM is undoubtedly politically motivated, with an election rumoured to be on the horizon, but the promotion of these two messages by the Government is not helpful. In fact, for fleet managers, making a plan for electrification has probably got much harder – it’s a literal guessing game.

From our work supporting large fleets such as DPD and Addison Lee with charging management, we know they have already made major strategic and financial decisions based on the original 2030 date – and that they will be sticking to the original deadline as a result. This is because, as the CEO of Nissan suggested only this week, that it is too late to turn back.

However, for those small- to medium-sized fleets, which may not have begun their switch yet but may be thinking about what to do now, here are three things to consider:

Firstly, electric company cars still benefit from generous Benefit-in-Kind tax breaks. How long these incentives may be in place is unknown, though at the upcoming Autumn Statement in November, and then the Budget in March, the Chancellor might decide to review these.

Secondly, in the UK the plug-in vehicle grant remains available for vans. Small electric vans can benefit from £2,500 per van, meanwhile large ones can benefit from £5,000 per van. Previously, there was a grant for cars, but these were rolled back as EVs became more popular.

And, lastly, it’s worth remembering that next year there will be a general election in the UK. Many of the polls suggest that Labour will likely win, which will mean the reversing of Sunak’s decision to push back the date to 2030 from 2035.

In recent years, the number of EVs in fleets across the UK has continued to accelerate. You only need to visit a major town or city to find many taxis and delivery vehicles are already fully electric. That’s because they are undoubtedly easier to manage and are increasingly cheaper – as electricity costs have come down, while fuel is slowly rising.