Questions?
0116 259 9548
BVRLA Member
No Administration Fees
Free Nationwide Delivery
In 2022, 5.9% of all new vans registered were electric, an increase of over 2% from the previous year, that is only set to increase again this year. With the Government pledging that by 2030 70% of new vans bought in the UK will be electric.
There have been a number of initiatives by the government to help drivers make the switch, and currently there is still an active initiative to help with the switch over to electric vans.
Small vans - Maximum discount £2,000.
Large vans - Maximum discount £5,000
Making the switch to an electric van not only means that you produce zero emissions, but it will also mean that won't have to pay the charges for entering any clean air zones (ULEZ, CAZ, or LEZ) which are appearing in more and more cities and areas across the country. If you are a business that travels a lot, this cost can quickly add up, and there is no way of avoiding it.
Most van drivers need a van because they have heavy items to transport, so the payload is important. All vans have a GVW (gross vehicle weight), this tells you how much weight you can add to your van and for it to be safely driven.
The legal maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) is 3.5 tonnes for a standard UK driving licence. Most large vans use every kilogram of this weight to be able to pack their vans, however the weight of the battery packs in electric vans means that large electric vans have a lower actual payload due to this. The Maxus Deliver 9 has a payload of 1240 kg and the Maxus E-Deliver 9 has a payload of 1040 kg - which for some this might be significant.
For small and medium vans the payload isn’t really dissimilar to that of the fuel counterparts, meaning that if you previously had for example a Peugeot Partner it had a payload of about 900kg, the Peugeot e-Partner has a payload just over 800kg, so very little difference.
No matter which type of van you chose, it is always advisable to check that you stay within the payload to ensure that you get the best possible results from your van.
Charging your electric van might be a little different to filling it with diesel or petrol, but it will soon become second nature to you. Charging comes with a few different options.
You may be able to charge your van at work, if you have a fleet of vans, and they are all on site overnight, then it makes sense that you would have charging points there and all vans will charge overnight and be ready and fully charged for business every morning.
There are grants available from the Government for small and medium businesses to install charging points for workplace vans, this can give you up to 75% off the total installation cost, meaning that the saving could b e substantial.
If you are a one-van business, then funding for a charging point might not be as readily available, there are restrictions on who can claim a grant for domestic charging, and it’s worth checking to see if you qualify, if you have a business premises, it might be easier to get a work place charger as long as your van can be secured overnight.
Charging your van when you are already out on the road shouldn’t be a problem either, most new vans come fitted with an app that will show you all the charging points local to where you are, and they type of charging that they offer. A rapid DC charge will mean that you can be fully charged and back on the road, usually in half an hour - a lot faster than overnight charging.
The Government has committed to installing 300,000 public charging points by 2030 which means that no matter where you go in the country you should be able to recharge your van.
The distance your electric van can go between charges varies greatly, as it would with a fuel engine. There are a number of different factors, like the size of the battery, and the weight of the load you are carrying. The bigger the battery, then typically the further you will be able to travel, however, the bigger the battery, the heavier you will be.
The Maxus eDeliver3 has a range of 151 miles, the Renault Kangoo E-Tech 186 miles and the Ford e-Transit 196-mile range. These are good ranges, and with the Government reporting that up to 51% of vans stay within a 15-mile radius of their base, then you will certainly get plenty of drive out of a single charge if you are delivering locally and in an urban city area.
Range anxiety need no longer be an issue, there are plenty of apps available that will show you all the local charging points to where you are. You can even find out the type of charging facilities that are available, whether it has rapid charging or not. Some apps even tell you the price they charge for the different types of charging available so that you can even calculate the cost of your trip.
Realistically speaking, an electric van should be able to do anything that a fuel van can do, technology is advancing and improving all the time to ensure that you always have the best possible driving experience, and what could be better than producing zero emissions and helping improve the air quality that you are breathing.
Hopefully you now know that switching to electric doesn't have to be hard, there is funding in place to help you finance the change and make that step to make your business more environmentally friendly. Here at MW Vehicle Contracts, we are always happy to help and to answer any questions that you may have. We are committed to ensuring that we play our part in helping everyone move toward zero emission driving. Call us, or email us today, a member of our team is waiting to help you.
