WELCOME TO

Electric vehicles continue to provide a blazing ray of light within the UK automotive marketplace.

While overall new car registrations fell 4.4% in September, interest in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid models is soaring, driven both by Covid-19 and the low and 0% Benefit-in-Kind currently available.

In fact, the September registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show demand for BEVs increased by 184.3% compared with the same month last year. And demand is clearly rising fast; September 2020 accounted for a third of all BEV registrations in the first nine months of the year.

The move to 0% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) for EVs, which came into effect on 6 April 2020 for the current tax year, is undoubtedly behind the rise, as well as new models, increased availability and higher ranges.

But coronavirus has also helped drive acceptance, having helped show the benefits of improved air quality. Covid-related changes to working environments have also made BEVs more feasible too; the switch to homeworking and web technologies such as Zoom conference calls are cutting drivers’ mileage and therefore range anxiety, making alternatively-fuelled models more attractive to fleets.

For those operators – and the ones still not quite ready to move to ULEVs – we have created this new EV Fleet World Digital magazine, providing a pre-eminent platform to influence and inform the corporate fleet and mobility sector in the UK about such vehicles. EV Fleet World will also offer an unparalleled editorial viewpoint on key issues facing fleet's transition to electric-powered vehicles.

I would also like to thank prominent suppliers to the emerging fleet EV industry: Fiat, Jeep, Mazda, Vauxhall and Bynx, whose products and services are helping accelerate EV acceptance and fleet uptake.

I hope you enjoy the issue and don’t forget to look out on the final page for the latest news from evfleetworld.co.uk

As always, we are here to provide advice and help.

Martyn Collins Editor