Seven low emission vans have been named in the government’s ultra low carbon emission ‘Plug-in Van Grant‘ scheme that will see fleet managers, business owners and tradesmen qualify for 20% off the manufacturer’s list prices for electric vans.
The announcement that the extension to the commercial sector from the domestic car market was made known at the beginning of the year. However, it has taken several weeks for the finalised list of vans that will be included to be published and the list, which includes some vans that are already on sale and others that are scheduled to be released later in the year includes some unfamiliar manufacturers and models. The exclusions are also quite surprising, especially after some of the extensive prototype testing we have seen in our own capital and awards that have been won for vans in other places in the world that have simply not appeared at all.
It is quite obvious where the governments incentives lie. Getting the economy back on track through saving businesses money and reaching carbon footprint targets is seemingly more important than bringing realistic prices for electric cars to the public as the discount for light commercial vehicles is a maximum of £8,000 compared to £5,000 for cars.
To make battery powered vans even more of a no-brainer for the busy tradesman there is a call for cheap van insurance to accompany the reduced cost of the van itself.
It is hoped that cheap van insurance can be achieved because of the price strategy that manufacturers have cobbled together for electric vans. Businessmen can buy the van, chassis, and keep the vehicle topped up with electricity but manufacturers are claiming ownership of the battery itself in perpetuity. As well as paying for the electric every month, electric van owners will have to shell out for the battery hire to whichever dealership they have purchased the van from in the first instance.
The offset in that cost is hoped to be achieved through cheapened van insurance as the broker or direct insurance agent will never have to be responsible for the upkeep of the battery, a high-priced component in its own right.
In the upcoming exhibition at Silverstone where manufacturers of this mode of power will be hoping to convince fleet managers that switching to electric power is the way forward, it is hoped that there will be clarification on this issue.
The criteria for the qualification of the electric vans will be explained in the following article, here on cheapvaninsurance.co.uk.