Autumn Statement must provide long-term stability to make EV future a reality

By Ashley Tate, managing director of Allstar Chargepass UK

With the new government’s first Autumn Statement coming up this month, the UK’s businesses are bracing for major changes – many of them unwanted. As a society, we have been prepared for a “difficult” and “tough” environment as the Chancellor of the Exchequer tries to fix the well-publicised £22bn budgetary ‘black hole’.

For the UK’s fleets and fleet operators, it is yet another period of deep uncertainty, during a critical period of change and transition. There seems to be consensus that the freeze on fuel duty that began in 2011 and the extension of the temporary fuel duty cut from 2022 will come to an end, putting £2bn back in the budget at the expense of both poorer drivers and larger fleets.

The extra 5p charge on every litre of petrol will quickly add up to thousands of pounds when they are refuelling large vehicles that are constantly on the move, such as delivery vans.

Added to that, while the cut-off point for the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is set for 2035, there has been noise that it may move back to 2030 again. Similarly, the rules around Low Emission Zones and company car rates could be set for change, adding extra costs to fleets, particularly those that operate in large cities.

Put simply, we need stability and we need certainty. One of the few areas we have this for are Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) rates. These are set until 2028 and are one of few examples where the Government set a clear structure for company car tax for a set period of time, enabling businesses to prepare and incentivise to adopt EVs. But where is it for vans?

Clearly it starts from the top with strategy and execution. By providing a long-term strategy that’s fuelled with incentives, change happens and action commences for the long term. Short-term plans and policies – or reversing of these – result in stunted momentum, and this cannot be allowed to happen.

We’ve seen that other nations, such as New Zealand and the Netherlands, have successfully created great momentum in the electrification of their transport and logistics infrastructure, only to see it stall when government initiatives change or stop altogether.

The UK government must acknowledge that drivers have been through a difficult few years and must make serious and long-term commitments for at least five years. That would give everyone time to plan, to adapt to new conditions and would provide the UK’s drivers with a much-needed break from uncertainty.