September marked the best month ever for battery electric commercial vehicles, yet the overall market remains miles off government ambitions.
Figures from the SMMT show 4,832 zero emission vans joined UK roads last month, a lift of 13.4 percent year on year. Fleets currently have forty different pure electric commercial models to choose from.
The headache sits in the market share. Electric vans captured just 9.6 percent of September registrations, leaving the market well short of the 24 percent threshold demanded by the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.
The industry is calling for urgent long term clarity, ongoing grant support, and quicker grid connections for depot charging. Operators want to switch, but higher upfront purchase costs and lagging public infrastructure mean the commercial transition is moving at half the pace ministers require.
What did The EV Café say?
“With diesel hitting £2 a litre, an electric van driver can save £3,000 a year. In any world, as a small business, you want that money in your pocket and not somebody else's.”
Paul Kirby
“If a van driver can save £3,000 a year, then this is an amazing statistic.”
Sara Sloman