Waiting Times For EVs Tumble To Petrol And Diesel Delivery Times

THE changes to benefit in kind company car taxation are likely to increase demand for electric vehicles (EVs) on small fleets.

You can understand why.

With benefit in kind dropping from 16% to 0% for the 2020/21 tax year, it is easy to see why employees will be making representations for a zero emission company vehicle.

The demand for EVs is growing already. While March new car registrations suffered a huge 44% year-on-year fall thanks to the coronavirus crisis, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says the market for EVs is on the up: nearly 200% year-on-year to take 4.6% market share.

But how easy is it to actually acquire a new EV? Last year there was high demand and poor availability, restraining pent up demand.

The good news from consumer car magazine What Car? is that as the market recovers from the coronavirus crisis it expects waiting times for the latest EVs to be the same as petrol and diesel cars.

What Car? market research found that:

• Waiting times on some of the newest and most desirable electric vehicles have significantly fallen in the past 12 months 

• Average waiting time for a new electric vehicle is within 12 weeks, matching that of conventional petrol and diesel models

• Tesla Model 3, all-new Renault Zoe, and Peugeot e-208 are among the vehicles which can be bought and delivered within one week

There is also stock availability, meaning cars are available to order now from eight manufacturers.

The list includes the Tesla Model 3, the all-new third-generation Renault Zoe and the all-new Peugeot e-208. 

What Car? also noted that waiting times for the Kia e-Niro, which had a waiting list that extended to more than a year 12 months ago, has been halved to 26 weeks. 

The longest wait is on Porsche’s first electric car, the Taycan (36 weeks), followed by the SEAT Mii Electric and Skoda Citigo e IV (26 weeks), although the Skoda is currently on hold for orders. 

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: 

“Waiting times on a new electric car used to extend as far as 12 months, but with more models entering the market we’re finally starting to see those times fall to match those of petrol and diesel variants.

“As the new car market recovers from the coronavirus crisis, many of the most popular electric vehicles can be delivered as quickly as a petrol or diesel vehicle, which is a real boost for prospective buyers keen to get on with electric motoring.”

What About Leasing An EV?

Small fleets that want to lease an EV will be heartened by these shortened delivery times. It will mean drivers can take advantage of the company car tax benefits sooner.

At the time of writing, Fleet Alliance was offering a Nissan Leaf (from £245 per month ex VAT) and a Tesla Model 3 Standard Plus (from £392 per month ex VAT) on business contract hire through its small fleet leasing offers section.

Martin Brown, managing director of Fleet Alliance, told us:

“Availability has been an issue in the past, but prior to the Covid-19 outbreak we were more confident that EV availability was improving with new models coming into the market. But with many automakers having coronavirus factory shutdowns there will inevitably be an impact.”

Company Car Tax and EVs

A change to the benefit in kind taxation rules has made the company car once more an appealing employee engagement and retention tool.

The changes made to benefit in kind from 06 April 2020 are designed to encourage small fleets into zero emission motoring.

The government has said it intends to stop the sale of traditional petrol and diesel vehicles, along with hybrid vehicles, by 2035. To facilitate this move, the taxation on an EV has dropped from 16% to 0%.

In addition, there is no sudden escalation of the taxation benefit in the near future. The taxation timeline for an EV is:

• 2020/21 – 0%

• 2021/22 – 1%

• 2022/23 – 2%

• 2023/24 – 2%

• 2024/25 – 2%

For example, the driver of a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus paying tax at 40% would pay a total of £515 over the next three years starting 2020/21.

A driver of a Nissan Leaf Accenta 40kW paying tax at 20% would pay a total of £179 over the same period.

Waiting Times For An EV

Make and model plus minimum waiting times in weeks

• DS 3 Crossback E-tense, 1

• MG ZS EV, 1

• Peugeot e-208, 1

• Renault Zoe, 1

• Smart Fortwo EQ, 1

• Smart Forfour EQ, 1

• Tesla Model 3, 1

• Tesla Model S, 1

• Tesla Model X, 1

• VW e-Golf, 1

• VW e-Up, 1

• Nissan Leaf, 2

• Peugeot e-2008, 6

• Kia Soul EV, 8

• Audi e-tron, 12

• Vauxhall Corsa-e, 12

• Mercedes EQC, 15

• Renault Twizy ,16

• Hyundai Ioniq Electric, 18

• Hyundai Kona electric, 18

• BMW i3, 20

• Jaguar I-Pace, 20

• Kia e-Niro, 26

• SEAT Mii electric, 26

• Skoda Citigo e IV, 26

• Porsche Taycan, 36

Source: What Car?. All manufacturers selling EVs in the UK were asked for their lead times on each of their models. The research was conducted during late February and early March 2020.

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