Fleets have welcomed an easing of electric van targets as they transition away from petrol and diesel light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

In a Fleet News at 10 debate at Fleet and Mobility Live, fleet decision-makers discussed changes to Government targets alongside a range of other issues impacting the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced its zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate last month, which will require 10% of vans and more than a fifth (22%) of cars sold by manufacturers to be electric from next year.

The targets for manufacturers will increase each year, requiring 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain to be zero emission by 2030.

However, while that will increase to 100% for new cars sold by 2035, DfT says that the targets for electric van sales for years 2031-2035 will be set out in future legislation later in the decade.

DfT has also amended the trajectory originally suggested for electric van sales from 2024-2026.

Previous published targets would have required almost a doubling of the share of new electric van sales from 10-19%, from 2024 to 2025.

It instead opted for a lower market share of 16% in 2025, while increasing the 2026 target from 22-24%.

The ZEV mandate was published  after the Government decided to delay the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by five years, from 2030 to 2035. 

Lorna McAtear, fleet manager at National Grid, told delegates at Fleet and Mobility Live she was pleased that the Government had kept the sales targets for electric cars as originally suggested.

However, she welcomed the “tweaking” of targets for electric vans. “It’s good news,” she said. “I've got over 1,000 4x4s that I need to tow things with - those vehicles just aren't available yet.

“Shifting that target... means that we do have more time to find the right vehicles to do the job that we need to do.”

Appearing alongside McAtear on a panel of fleet experts for the Fleet News at 10 seminar, Claire Evans, fleet consultancy director at Zenith, also welcomed the newly published EV sales targets, including changes to those for electric vans.

“It's really good for van fleets, because now it gives them room and opportunity for those really hard-use cases to shift, to continue with their diesel product.”

Denise Hawkins, fleet manager at Stannah Group, agreed, describing the news as positive. She told delegates: “It’s definitely a positive with the vans, because they’re not there yet, they’re not fit for purpose yet.”

Duncan Webb, fleet director at the AA, said the ZEV mandate was much more important to fleets, than the Government deciding to delay its ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, describing the 10% target next year as “doable”.

However, despite DfT lowing its initial target for 2025, Webb said: “We’re more worried about the glide path into 2025; it’s probably more of a risk, because it jumps up another 6%.”

The panel also discussed service, maintenance and repair (SMR) of EVs, charging infrastructure and residual values amongst a range of different issues. Watch the full seminar below.

Fleet News at 10 features a guest panel of leading fleet decision-makers discussing the month’s biggest news and hottest industry topics.

The next webinar take place on Friday, October 27, from 10-11am. Register for free here.