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AFP calls for Budget to cover kerbside EV charging, BIK rates and mobility support
Date: 02 February 2021 | Author: Sean Keywood
Measures to help drivers without off-street parking to charge EVs should feature in the Chancellor's Budget next month, according to the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
Chair Paul Hollick said that with around 40% of potential EV drivers living in properties without driveways, providing them with some form of domestic charging was essential given the UK Government's plan to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030.
Hollick said: "There are some interesting ideas being pursued in this area, most notably around using street lighting as charging points, but there appears to be no overall strategy of which we are aware and it is a problem that needs solving.
"The government has done some excellent work on electrification so far and we believe they should build on this by taking some ownership of this problem. For example, they could offer support to some of the start-ups working in this area."
Hollick said the AFP would also like to see the Budget feature BIK company car tax tables through to the end of the decade.
He said: "Currently, we have tax tables up to 2024-25 and that allows us to effectively plan one replacement cycle ahead, which is useful, but we would also like to see tables through to 2029-30 created as soon as possible to look two cycles into the future.
"From a practical standpoint, this will mean that we can produce comprehensive EV adoption strategies that take us right through to the moment when petrol and diesel cars will no longer be available, tackling financial and operation concerns."
Hollick said that the AFP was also keen to see the government do more to encourage take up of mobility services by employers and their staff in the wake of the pandemic.
"This is a moment when changes in working practices prompted by coronavirus have changed habitual transport use," he said.
"Many people are walking and cycling and it would be good to see this encouraged to continue into the future. For example, in the Netherlands, there are tax breaks available for those who cycle or walk to work, and allowances in France covering 'sustainable mobility' solutions.
"It would be interesting to see something similar adopted here in the Budget."
