THE attractiveness of benefit in kind taxation rates on electric vehicles (EVs), coupled with low carbon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, has seen EV orders increase substantially at leasing broker and fleet management company, Fleet Alliance.
The Glasgow-based firm reports that it has seen a 214% upturn in customer EV orders representing an increase of more than 5,000% since the beginning of 2018.
Fleet Alliance, which manages a 30,000+ vehicle fleet, said the change in customer preferences has been spectacular. In 2018, diesel sales represented nearly 60% of orders by fuel type; today that figure is down to a quarter. Whereas EV sales have gone from negligible to 15% of sales in 2020.
The change in fuel type consideration has also been mirrored nationally, with the SMMT reporting EVs up by 185.9% to 108,205 units, while registrations of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) rose 91.2% to 66,877.
In total, demand from Fleet Alliance customers for ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) – that’s PHEVs, hybrids and EVs – rose to nearly 40% in 2020, up from 19% the previous year.
Managing director Martin Brown said the figures reflected the desire of company car drivers to move to less polluting, tax-beating models, allied to the government’s recently announced decision to ban purely fossil-fuelled vehicles from 2030.
EVs have seen a year-on-year increase of more than 200% and now account for over 15% of our fleet. The increase in EV orders last year was at the expense of a fall in orders for PHEVs, which suggests that hybrid sales are starting to plateau while those of pure EVs are clearly accelerating. The new EV-incentivising BIK tax structure has undoubtedly played a large part in the switch to EVs.
Martin Brown, managing director, Fleet Alliance
In terms of individual models, the Tesla Model 3 has been the runaway winner, accounting for some 40% of EV orders,streets ahead of its nearest challenger The Kia e-Niro at below 10%.
When it comes to hybrids, the Mitsubishi Outlander which for several years was the most popular model with Fleet Alliance customers, has now slipped to fifth place replaced by the BMW 3 Series PHEV with 11.5% of orders, followed by the Mercedes A-Class.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
