UK Government driving electric van transition with £1 billion worth of grants
The UK Government recently announced it is offering businesses up to £1bn in grants to ditch their petrol and diesel vans and trucks for electric.
The Zero Emissions Truck and Van grants and the Depot Charging Scheme (DCS) were rolled out on March 25, aimed at tackling two of the biggest barriers to making the switch: upfront costs and charging access. The truck grant offers discounts of up to £81,000 on the heaviest zero-emissions heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs), covering up to 40% of the purchasing costs. It will also offer up to £5,000 off electric vans.
Businesses and public authorities could also save up to £1 million, or 70% of the cost, when installing charging infrastructure for vans, coaches, and eHGVs after the Government opened its EV war chest and dedicated £170 million to the DCS. As well as the UK Government’s ambition to phase out the sale of all new internal combustion vehicles by 2035, these new electric van and truck grants were introduced to help reduce businesses’ exposure to fuel price uncertainty in light of the US/Israel and Iran war.
On the back of this latest bout of Government funding, the UK’s minister for aviation, maritime and decarbonisation, Keir Mather, said: “This £1bn investment cuts cost for British businesses, supports jobs, cleans up our roads, and gives operators protection against shifting global fuel prices. The logistics sector is the backbone of the UK economy, worth £170 billion and supporting 2.7 million jobs. We’re helping them expand and decarbonise their fleets whilst saving them cash, driving growth up and down the country.”
Voices within the logistics industry echoed Mather’s optimism for the electric van and truck grants, including Renault Trucks UK & Ireland and EV charging services provider Fleete – the latter of which recently opened the UK’s biggest eHGV charging hub at the Port of Tilbury.
“As a pioneer in decarbonised transport across both trucks and vans, we welcome this announcement as exactly the boost the industry has been waiting for,” commented James Charnok, the interim managing director at Renault Trucks UK & Ireland. “By directly addressing the critical barriers of high upfront costs and infrastructure investment, the government is enabling operators to move forward with greater confidence.
“The Zero Emission Truck and Van grants and the Depot Charging Scheme will help unlock the business case for fleet electrification, accelerating the transition from ambition to action. For operators, switching to electric is no longer just an environmental imperative, it is a strategic opportunity for sustainable growth, improved total cost of ownership over time and long-term competitiveness.
“We look forward to working closely with partners across the value chain to ensure this momentum translates into real-world deployment at scale.”
Fleete CEO, Chris Morrison, added: “Fleete is investing private capital to build out low-cost nationwide charging infrastructure for electric trucks. To build more infrastructure, we need to know there will be enough electric trucks on the road, and this happens when the electric trucks are competitive with diesel.
“With the new Zero Emissions Truck and Van grant announced today that is a reality. The grant helps bridge the gap until innovation and scale can drive costs down further to a point where the subsidy is not needed. Our latest Total Cost of Ownership calculator incorporates the new grant and latest diesel price showing that it is now as cost effective buying an electric truck as a diesel truck.”
