General Election 2024: Transport and energy professionals share their views

With tomorrow’s (Thursday 4 July) general election coming up, clean energy and transport experts have given their views on what they would like to see from the new Government – ​​including a clearer strategy for electric vehicles (EVs) and making them more affordable.

Alex Hinchcliffe, interim managing director of Mer UK, electric vehicle charging company Statkraft, said:

“Regardless of who is in 10th place, the need to decarbonise the global economy by achieving net zero emissions will remain high on the agenda. The transition to electric vehicles is key to the UK achieving its net zero emissions targets, and there are a number of different ways the new government can help deliver and accelerate this. Mer is keen for the next government to focus on a number of areas, mirroring many of those set out by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) in its own manifesto. In particular, as an electric vehicle charging company, Mer would like to see the new government introduce measures to:

• Phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030The date was brought forward by the current Conservative government to make electric vehicles affordable for more families. Labour and the Liberal Democrats would restore the target to 2030, while the Green Party has called for it to be brought forward to the end of 2027.
• Invest in the modernization of the energy grid and significantly reduce the time it takes to connect to the grid. This was discussed during the 2019-2024 parliament and was the subject of the 2023 Winser report on energy networks, which offers a blueprint for the necessary transformation. We hope that work in this area will continue as it is key to transforming our economy.
• Providing more assistance to local authorities and businesses in implementing electric vehicle charging infrastructure and help make electric mobility easy and accessible for everyone. Only the Liberal Democrats have singled this out with a commitment to deploy new charging points and a radical change to local network capacity.
• Further development of the levels of renewable energy generated in the UK through investment in infrastructure, skills and training. Different parties have estimated different amounts of investment in initiatives, such as £1.1bn in the Green Business Growth Allowance (Conservatives), £8.3bn in Great British Energy (Labour) and $40bn in the Green Economic Transformation with £12.4bn investment in skills and training (Lib Dem).
• Reduce VAT on public charging of electric vehicles up to 5% at home tariff, instead of the current 20%.

“Regardless of the election outcome, Mer will continue to promote and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles with our extensive experience in renewable energy and electric mobility. Supported by our parent company, Statkraft, we are combining the best of both worlds to drive Europe’s shift towards a cleaner way of transport.”

Ashley Tate, Managing Director of Allstar Chargepass UK, says the next government must deliver a clear plan to take electric vehicles to the next level in the UK.

He said: “The UK’s transition to electric vehicles appears to be steady – it is growing, but not at the pace we have seen before. The move to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles from 2030 to 2035 may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a strong signal to drivers and businesses across the UK that the whole EV programme seems to be slowing down, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). We need to get this back on track, not just for the environment but for businesses across the country.”

“We don’t have anything like a government strategy for electric vehicles at the moment, mainly because there are political agendas rather than addressing the strategic challenges for road users. The incoming government, whatever it is, will have an incentive to try to win some easy wins, perhaps by cutting fuel duty, but a clear strategy is needed to encourage more people to use electric vehicles, and that means reducing their price, which has repeatedly emerged as a key reason why many have not yet made the switch.

“There is currently a lot of focus on infrastructure, such as deploying more public chargers. This is not an area where the new government should be spending its time and money – there are already plenty of chargers on the streets, and most charging will take place at drivers’ homes or businesses. Subsidies are needed to help individuals and businesses buy electric vehicles. Similar programs have existed in the past, and there is no reason why they cannot return,” If there is the political will to meet this challenge.”

Paul Holland, UK/ANZ Fleet Managing Director at Corpay, including UK brand Allstar says the next government must make electric vehicles more affordable.

He commented: “We can all agree that whether you drive privately or professionally, the costs are too high. The government can’t wave a magic wand to radically reduce the cost of mobility, but wide-ranging, wholesale changes to the way we move around the UK can do it. Electrification is at the heart of this: charging a vehicle at home or at a private business is cheaper than charging on the public grid or filling up with petrol or diesel. If electric vehicles (EVs) were more widespread, drivers across the UK would pay less and fuel prices would be less volatile, because more than half of the UK’s electricity is generated from renewable sources.

“So what could the next government do? The biggest change would be to reduce the cost of buying electric vehicles. In the past, this has been done through subsidies, but the current manifesto proposals seem to have little traction. One potential light on the horizon is the introduction of affordable electric vehicles and the aftermarket – provided the new government takes action to support consumers and businesses with the cost of buying vehicles. Perhaps taking funds from the sale of combustion and fossil fuel vehicles and putting them into incentives for electric vehicles could help boost the take-up of electric vehicles and make transport cheaper for everyone.”

Meanwhile, Peter Golding, Managing Director at FleetCheck, a fleet software specialistsays the party elected on 4 July should consider rethinking the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) requirement for vans due to a number of issues facing fleets.

Peter said the gap between the capabilities of the vehicles on offer and the needs of many fleets was proving too wide and there were no easy ways to close the gap.

He said: “The huge success of electric company vehicles in recent years has shown that fleets are willing and able to electrify rapidly and on a large scale. However, the situation for vans is proving much, much more difficult.

“For some fleets that haul lighter loads over shorter distances and where depot or off-street charging is available, the introduction of electric vans can be relatively straightforward, but for others, there are a number of hurdles.

“Limited range and payload, and poor access to charging at night for drivers living in terraced houses or flats, are very real and common issues, as are the more specific difficulties associated with everything from the 4.25-tonne exemption to charging a 12V battery. That’s before we get to residual values.

“This situation seems to be having an immediate impact on sales, which for now seem to be flat. Unless you’re a large enterprise like a utility that’s putting a strong emphasis on van electrification and has the funds to manage that transition, take-up is relatively weak.”

Peter said that given these difficulties, the ZEV mandate’s target of 70% of all van sales being electric by 2030 seems potentially unrealistic.

“That’s just six years, which means that for most van fleets, no more than one replacement cycle. The structural problems that fleets face seem incredibly difficult to solve in that time frame.

“Whoever wins power will need to address this problem now, before it becomes a problem later in the decade. It seems clear that some form of support or incentive – similar to low-tax benefits-in-kind for electric cars – will be needed alongside a massive expansion of cheap on-street charging.

“We are already talking to fleets who are thinking about keeping their diesel vans for as long as possible to delay the switch to electrification. If government policy directly leads fleets to consider keeping much more polluting vehicles for longer, it is probably the wrong policy.”

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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