In our last article, we looked to see what was stopping the UK quiet van revolution, namely swapping to battery-ran engines, in light of the economic sense it makes and the sweeteners on offer to get you on the road with a plug-in van. Here, we list the EV positives for the neutral and a few negatives to help anyone who feels amp-utated from the scenario a little more at ohm. I know, Watt the…?
The benefits of (part) owning an electric van (EV/ZE)
If your regular delivery run only ever entails thirty of forty miles a day maximum, an electric van has to be a very real consideration for you. Mileage is, for sure, one of the determinate factors about delivering cheap van insurance in the first instance, but when you factor in that a single charge on most EVs rolling off the production line or being test-driven as prototypes are good for fifty or sixty, leave her charging overnight and you’ll never have to worry about where you can stop to top up with your fuel card again.
And whilst we’re discussing mileage, there is nothing on the market more fuel efficient. With averages working out at about £0.04/mile, depending upon your payload and how you drive, on a fifty-mile day you’ll have spent two quid – my electric heater costs half of that a day to run in my office.
There is a downside to that, though. With roadside plug-ins short on availability outside the capital, if you are called upon to make a run of any distance you’re stuck with hiring a vehicle for the task or calling in a courier. If you opt for the latter and take the hit on the chin, it will leave you free to concentrate on other aspects of your business, however.
One of the reasons that you’ll eventually get cheap van insurance quotes, if you can’t already, is because electric vans don’t have a top end that’s going to be breaking any speed laws on the motorway – brokers love that aspect. If you do have a collision, serious damage may well be dampened due to the reduced top end.
Poll-you-shun, all awound. Sometimes up, and sometimes down. But always around. Are you coming to my town? Classic poem by Rik, but you’ll be taking no poll-you-shun with you if you opt for the EV, not even noise pollution. In test drives, one of the factors most pilots have commented on is how silent it is. Additionally, zero emissions make this the most environmentally friendly form of commercial transport to date and van insurance brokers do like an efficient, green engine that is less likely to breakdown than it’s diesel-driven peers. You’ll even be below Euro III levels for travelling around the capital’s low emission zone, so could save a small fortune if your round takes you into Greater London.
And the deciding factor, with regards to cost, is the government subsidy. You have about three years left to claim up to £5k off the list price by way of a grant for opting to go green. If they can get the top-up stations in place, that will be money well saved.
Tempted? See what cheap van insurance deal you can get on an EV using our online form.