Electric vehicles make perfect business sense. From maintenance to monthly ‘fuel’ cost, they are a much cheaper vehicle to run than internal combustion engines. When you also realise that you can drive an EV directly into the City of London and not worry about the Ultra Low Emission Zone charge or parking fees; it’s easy to see that your EV costs less to use.
So this Zero Emissions Month, are you thinking about making your next company car an EV? Here’s why you should 👇
With zero emissions from the tailpipe, electric vehicles have a great effect on reducing the impact our transport network has on the environment.
In fact, when driving into London, in an effort to combat climate change and pollution within the city, EVs are favoured. All EVs are exempt from the charge in the Ultra Low Emission Zone, and furthermore they also are exempt from the Congestion Charge which can save your business up to £27.50 for every day you need to drive into the city.
Running an electric vehicle into the City of Westminster also cuts your parking costs. You are only charged for 10 minutes worth of parking time in any on-street bay and are entitled to the maximum prescribed time given on street signage.
It’s obvious who the real winner is when you compare the running costs of a regular petrol/diesel car to an EV. Overall, it’s incredibly inexpensive to fuel an electric vehicle while also not missing out on too many of the perks of a traditional car.
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association calculated that it would cost two to four pence per mile to charge your EV. However, this is dependent on how the vehicle is charged and where, with home or workplace charging generally being cheapest.
In comparison, for an equivalent petrol or diesel car, it will cost you 10 to 14 pence per mile. This means going electric could save you 80% to 90% on company fuel costs, allowing you to spend that money in other areas of your business.
As well as fuel running costs, there is also a substantial amount of savings to be made on the maintenance and annual servicing costs with an electric vehicle. It can be around 40% cheaper as there are fewer moving parts. An example of this saving is that a minor service on an electric Nissan LEAF would cost £159, compared with £229 for a Nissan petrol model and £269 for a Nissan diesel car.
Another major perk of having an electric company car is that they are exempt from road tax, or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). This is because the system is now based on carbon dioxide emissions all in an effort to protect the environment.
The more your car pollutes, the more you have to pay, which is excellent news for owners of electric vehicles as they have zero tailpipe emissions, meaning there is nothing to pay.
The UK Government is fully in support of electrifying our transport networks, and the saving on Road Tax is further proof of that.
Another important reason that your business should consider switching to electric vehicles as soon as possible is with the fast-approaching upcoming ban on selling any new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars in the UK looming on the horizon.
The date for this ban has been brought forward from 2040 to 2035 by the UK government already. Further discussions have taken place recently to bring it forward again to 2030, as experts say that 2040 would be too late to reach the government’s aim of emitting virtually zero carbon by 2050, in plans unveiled by Boris Johnson as part of a launch event for a United Nations Climate Summit.
This has encouraged many car brands to make the switch to electric already; in fact, there has been increased production from 25,000 EVs in 2018 to over 500,000 in 2020. Sales of electric powered vehicles doubled in August 2020, with a quarter of all cars sold during the month using some form of electric power.
The ban will mean that it will gradually get more expensive to purchase an electric car or a fleet of them as we edge closer to the year of the ban. Therefore you should take the plunge sooner rather than later and future proof your company.
The earlier you make the switch will leave you more time to consider the remaining aspects of owning an EV, such as charging solutions, whilst switching to EVs now will make your company even more socially responsible.
Discover how we can help your business’ charging needs by getting in touch and booking your site survey here. Alternatively, give us a call at 03333 44 96 99 or fill in the contact form below.
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This type of electric charger has it's own cable to charge your car.
This type of electric charger requires a seperate cable to charge your car.
Spread over a 60 month period.
Tenants and homeowners are eligible for finance.
You decide the amount of months.
Minimum of £1000.
We will contact you to process the credit application. Approval is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. 13.9% APR representative. T&Cs apply.
Your order is not confirmed until your application has been approved.
We lay SWA cable laid at 600mm deep, with a protective cable warning tape laid 150mm above the cable. These are laid on a sand or sifted sand soil bed then backfilled.
We position overhead cables at a minimum height of 3.5m and are run along a catenary wire. The cable run should not be accessible to vehicles.
Standard Installation
Our instant price is fixed if it falls within our standard installation package plus any additions that you have selected (extra cabling for example). This package covers the majority of homes in the UK. Before we undertake your installation we will carry out a digital survey to check that nothing has been missed. After reviewing the survey results some additional work may be required in order to complete your installation safely and to the required standards. If this is the case, we will contact you well before the installation date and advise the cost of any required work. You can then continue with your installation, or alternatively we will refund you in full if you do not want to proceed.
Included in our standard installation is :
• Fitting of a single phase charge point to a brick or plaster wall or other suitable permanent structure
• Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity supply meter / distribution board and the charge point.
• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick if this is needed.
• The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the charge point.
• An additional three way consumer unit, if required
• Installation of a Type A RCBO in an RCBO enclosure
• Up to 3 metres of plastic trunking to conceal interior wiring.
• An O-pen earth protection device if the charge point requires it. (This is NOT an earth rod)
• Up to 4 hours of labour from your installer to complete the work.
• Electrical testing of the whole installation.
• Handover and setup of the charge point and any app that may be needed.
Not included in our standard installation (additional work) :
• Where the installation requires additional cabling over and above the amount you have told us about.
• Upgrade/replacement of the main incoming supply fuse where the local DNO (eg Northern Powergrid) would need to attend site.
• If the charge point is to be mounted on a post/pedestal rather than an existing wall and where you have not selected a post as an extra cost option in your order.
• Installation of a charge point to a three phase supply.
• Where gas and water mains bonding (earthing) is not in place at your property. If this is not in place, additional work would be required before installation of the charge point.
• Any groundwork that has not been selected during the order process.
A Surge Protection Device is not included in our standard installation.
What else you need to know :
• On the day of installation, please ensure that the area around your consumer unit (fuse box), incoming electricity supply meter and proposed charge point location (including where the cable is expected to be run) is clear and free of obstructions.
• We will need your WiFi password as part of the installation process in order to connect your charge point to the internet. Please have this available for the installer. Details will not be kept.
• The charge point must be on your own designated off road parking.
• The charger will be fixed in line with current guidelines at a height where it cannot be hit by a vehicle.
• Our installers are not able to enter loft spaces; lift floorboards or flooring; take apart any furniture of work above a height of 2m. If you anticipate that any of this may be required, then please contact us and we can discuss in more detail and provide you with a quotation.
• Should there be extreme weather conditions our installers may not be able to continue with you installation if it is not safe to do so (for example flooding). They will always do their best to complete the work where they can.
If you have any questions then please contact our customer service team who will be happy to help. Please also read our terms and conditions.
