SME fleets will welcome intervention from industry body, the British Vehicle & Rental Association (BVRLA), which has successfully lobbied for an extension to the Plug-in Vehicle Grant period.
While the grant worth up to £1400 was dropped in June this year, qualifying vehicles had a 12 month period for delivery before the grant lapsed. The delivery period of eligible orders has now been extended to 18 months.
The temporary extension takes into account the ongoing semiconductor shortage and conflict in Ukraine, which has resulted in multiple supply chain issues.
As a result, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) has announced the temporary extension for vehicle orders placed between 14 June 2021 and 31 March 2023.
Commenting on the announcement, Toby Poston, Director of Corporate Affairs at the BVRLA, said:
This is great news for a fleet industry that is still suffering from massive lead times on some of the most popular battery electric vehicles. We greatly appreciate the input from members on this issue and thank OZEV for taking decisive action to support fleet decarbonisation.
While the Plug-in Car Grant is no longer available, SME fleets can still benefit from the switch to electric vehicles thanks to the low benefit in kind taxation of zero emission vehicles, and low running costs thanks to reduced whole life costs.
Companies can also offer salary sacrifice zero emission cars as an employee benefit, providing EVs at a lower cost than a private personal contract hire rental.
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