Medium-term rental is seeing a new use by fleets; to offset electric vehicle waiting times, according to Meridian Vehicle Solutions.

Phil Jerome, managing director at Meridian Vehicle Solutions

With driver uptake of EVs being hampered by a ‘bottleneck’ in global battery production that has seen waiting times for EVs run into six months or longer, Meridian MD Phil Jerome said some fleets were turning to medium-term rental to provide cost-effective company car provision during the interim.

He said: “There is considerable fleet interest in EVs, powered by factors such as the 0% company car tax rate that was announced recently, improved technology offering greater range and just higher levels of general awareness.

“However, very few EVs are currently available off-the-shelf and, for most of the popular models, you are looking at considerable waiting times – long enough that daily rental or contract extensions on your existing lease might be considered prohibitive.

“That is where medium-term rental is scoring highly. If you know that your EV isn’t going to be ready until well into next year, then a six-month vehicle on medium-term rental is an attractive, cost-effective solution. We are definitely seeing interest.”

Jerome added that the solution also offer a positive in the form of environmentally friendly vehicles available on medium-term rental.

“While we don’t offer any electric vehicles, we do have hybrids and low-CO2 and NOx petrol and diesel options available for immediate delivery, meaning that we are a fitting option for people who have opted for an EV in the longer-term,” he explained.