The direction of taxation regarding electric company cars has been described as “potentially worrying” by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
The trade organisation says that the recent scrapping of the plug-in car grant scheme could indicate that the government believes the EV market has now reached a point where it can operate with fewer or even no measures designed to speed and support adoption.
Paul Hollick, AFP chair, explained: “Fleets have been at the forefront of the electric car revolution and a key factor behind this has been the low benefit-in-kind (BIK) taxation on offer to drivers, a fraction of that charged to petrol and diesel company car users. It’s been a highly successful incentive.
“However, we remain in a situation – which we have been highlighting for some time now – where BIK tables have only been published up until 2024-25, leaving businesses and employees with no indication of what the rate will be for 2025-26 and beyond.
“The loss of the plug-in car grant is not in itself significant – it applied to few fleet vehicles – but our fear is that if the government believes that the electric car market is now capable of standing with little support, we will see a sudden jump in BIK taxation over a short period of time. The temptation to do this might be strong, especially at a point in time when the public finances are not in the best shape. It’s potentially worrying.”
Paul said that the AFP recognised that taxation on electric cars needed to rise but remained adamant that it should be implemented in a manner that was gradual and well-signposted.
“In our opinion, increasing BIK rates too quickly would potentially affect rates of adoption by fleets and even potentially push people back out of electric company cars into private petrol or diesel alternatives. There needs to be a fair and equitable approach over time.
“Of course, the whole situation is complicated by the fact that EV supply is currently so poor. A company driver asking his employer to order a vehicle today may well have to wait over a year for delivery. That places them in the 2023-24 tax year when BIK will be 2%. Assuming their car is on a four year cycle, they know that rate will be held until 2024-25 but they will be driving it until 2027-28, a period for which we have no information whatsoever.
“Our view is very much that it would be deeply unfair for that employee to suddenly find dramatic jumps in their taxation during their last two years with the car. It would also threaten the long-term electrification plans that, many fleets are enthusiastically pursuing right now, including our members.”
Paul said that the AFP was currently in dialogue with Her Majesty Customs and Excise (HMRC) on a number of issues and this was one that they continued to raise.
“All we can do is make HMRC and the Treasury aware of our views and support them with as much evidence as possible. As the fleet industry’s professional organisation, we are working hard to make sure that our voice is heard.”
The new car supply situation for some fleets is worsening and remains extremely patchy for almost all, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is reporting.
Paul Hollick, chair, explained said that feedback from across its membership showed that serious problems were persisting and causing increasing operational disruption.
“This is, of course, a worldwide problem caused by worldwide issues, ranging from demand for raw materials to semiconductor shortages through to, more recently, the war in Ukraine hitting manufacturing of key components.
“However, it is also a problem that is very much affecting fleet managers in the UK and we are hearing many stories that suggest the situation is worsening, at least for certain businesses, and show no apparent signs of improving.
“Some fleet managers are telling us that drivers are having to go through the process of choosing a new car half a dozen times before finding one for which a manufacturer will even provide an production slot – and that date is likely to be a year or more away.
“Other manufacturers have closed their order books either completely or for certain models. In general terms, PHEVs have become very difficult to acquire and it seems that production is being skewed away from them towards EVs, probably because of CAFE regulations.
“Even when cars can be obtained, they are often being delivered without meeting the order specification. The wrong colour is fairly commonplace but equipment is often missing – parking sensors seem to be a particular issue – with no resulting adjustment in price.
“All of these problems exist for petrol and diesel cars but can generally be doubled for EVs.”
Paul said that, in these situations, fleets had little choice but to continue operating their existing cars for as long as possible but with new car shortages now in their second year, there was increasing pressure on managers.
“The situation creates two sets of problems. The first is that the car is ageing and difficulties with keeping it on the road in a cost effective manner increase over time. Some cars are now being operated into their fifth year and will probably still be on the fleet in their sixth because they cannot be replaced. These are unchartered waters in maintenance terms.
“The second is an employee satisfaction issue. Drivers who are keen to move into EVs but simply cannot get hold of the right model are having to continue to pay benefit in kind on ageing and increasingly unattractive diesel models, with no solution in sight. There is no easy answer to this situation and it does cause some disruption.”
Paul added that AFP members had become adept at swapping information about vehicle availability during the last year or longer.
“One of the key advantages of AFP membership is the ability to network extensively with fellow professionals and there is certainly much conversation taking place at the moment about when and where cars are becoming available.
“It is very difficult to know when the underlying supply issues will start to noticeably improve but with the degree of order backlog that exists, we don’t expect to see any real change for at least a year or probably longer.”
The Association of Fleet Professionals Fleet Academy is now an IMI (Institute of The Motor Industry) Approved Centre for training.
Ronnie Gillman, training manager at the AFP, said: “We are delighted to have become an IMI Approved Centre.
“The aims and objectives of the AFP are closely aligned with those of the IMI and it is an important seal of approval. We work to elevate the standards of management in the fleet sector and help the current and next generation of fleet leaders put new skills and knowledge into action. We want learning and development to be available to everyone in the fleet industry – there are no qualification pre-requisites to attend our courses. They are designed to get everyone involved, enabling delegates to develop their professional skills, gain recognition and further their career.”
Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI added: “The fleet sector plays a fundamental role in the UK economy. The IMI is, therefore, delighted to see the commitment being made by the Association of Fleet Professionals to elevate the sector’s standards with its Fleet Academy which is now an IMI Approved Centre. We look forward to working together to help extend continual professional development across the sector in the years to come.”
The AFP’s Fleet Academy was launched at the start of 2022. The Fleet Academy is an evolution of the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM), with the training based on the same course structures, professional trainers and range of resources. The AFP was formed two years ago by uniting the ICFM with the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO).
Details about all of the AFP’s courses, including pricing, dates and locations, is available at Education & Training – AFP (theafp.co.uk)
Company car and van drivers need to be given practical advice on home charging, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is reporting.
Paul Hollick, chair at the industry body, said that there was often an assumption that drivers would just know how to use their domestic charger – one that was frequently proven wrong.
He explained: “In terms of the EV transition, we are seeing a lot of attention given to public charging – to whether it can be easily accessed, its costs, compatibility with apps and so on – but comparatively little is being said about home charging.
“However, we are hearing from our members that drivers often don’t know much about home charging beyond how to connect their vehicle. It does seem to be an area where parties such as employers, manufacturers, charging providers and organisations such as the AFP need to fill the gap. Simply, knowing a few basics will help drivers to get the most out of their electric car or van, as well as keeping costs low.”
The two key areas where advice was needed centred around charging vehicles overnight irrespective of whether it was needed and accessing power at times when it was cheapest.
“Our members are finding that many new EV drivers are treating their new vehicle in the same way as they might their mobile phone. They come home and they plug in their car or van overnight, no matter what the state of charge.
“This isn’t good for mobile phones and it isn’t good for EVs. You shouldn’t seek to top up your vehicle continually but let the battery run down to the point where it needs charging if your journey pattern allows. Many experts recommend keeping the charge in a 20-80% range.
“Also, charging in the early evening is usually the highest rate for power companies and is much better done in the early hours, when it tends to be a lot cheaper. Accessing the lower rate can make a substantial difference to EV fuel costs.”
Paul added that the AFP had received requests from fleets wanting to hold short orientation courses for new EV drivers covering charging and more.
“Employers want to ensure that employees know how to charge their vehicles but additionally, recognise how to adapt their driving style, such as using regenerative braking and a ‘one pedal’ approach. This can all be covered in a couple of hours. It’s obviously important that people adopting electric cars and vans develop good habits early on.”
More information about fleet electrification can be found in the members’ area of the AFP web site – www.theafp.co.uk.
In conjunction with the BVRLA, we have been lobbying government to review the AER.
HMRC cannot make any changes without better data and clear justification. In order to review the current AER, they need case studies quantifying how the 5ppm is impacting real drivers.
This is where you come in!
We need to gather real world case studies of drivers who are out of pocket from the 5 ppm AER in as many diverse job roles, geographies, income demographics and car types as possible
Please can you send us evidence of where your drivers have been under reimbursed by the AER in the following format:
Case study format:
Please send your examples to [email protected] and entitle your email AER evidence. We require the information by the end of June 2022.
Many thanks for your help.
The AFP Board
The UK’s top 20 local authorities with the highest need for kerbside charging in order for company van drivers to adopt electric vehicles have been named by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
They are headed by Birmingham City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, London Borough of Croydon Council, Glasgow City Council and the London Borough of Newham. Local authorities in London feature heavily, accounting for nine.
The findings are based on the AFP’s new national kerbside charging map, which was unveiled last month and shows – for the first time – exactly where UK businesses need kerbside charging to be installed close to the homes of their van-driving employees.
The creation of the map was a two-part exercise. First, net zero analytics consultancy Field Dynamics produced a dataset that scored each household on whether there was space to park and charge a van for the country’s 28 million homes. This was then overlaid with records containing the addresses of 75,000 van drivers employed by AFP members.
The map is aggregated to a level of the UK’s 408 local authorities and the rankings are based on the number of drivers in each area who need kerbside charging.
Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said: “The requirement for kerbside charging remains the single biggest obstacle to the adoption of electric vans for businesses. Without the ability to charge overnight, the whole operational model quickly falls apart.
“We believe that around 60-70% of fleet van drivers need kerbside charging installed near to their home in order to use an electric van. Our aim is that each of them will have facilities installed within a safe 4-5 minute walk.
“What the map does is provide our members with hard data that allows them to approach partners such as local authorities and charging providers, and show exactly where chargers need to be sited. This is a crucial step forward.
“These new rankings are a good indication of the places where most work needs to be done. What they have in common is that these are heavily populated, urban areas where there is a large proportion of homes without driveways such as terraced houses and apartments.”
Paul added that the AFP was very keen for more fleets to add their data to make the map ever more complete and would like to hear from businesses who would be able to contribute van driver information.
He said: “This data is, of course, anonymised and handled in accordance with all relevant regulations. Details are available on our web site or by e-mailing us.”
A summary of the map is available from the AFP web site at https://ev-hub.theafp.co.uk/ev-kerbside-charging/ while a detailed version can be obtained by e-mailing [email protected].
The rankings in full are:
A new national map that shows – for the first time – where UK businesses need kerbside charging close to the homes of company van drivers has been unveiled by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
The map shows where drivers employed by AFP member companies need kerbside charging in order to adopt an electric vehicle (EV). The underlying database contains 75,000 records and the map and statistics are aggregated to local authority level.
Key findings include that nearly four out of 10 homes (38.7%) are without off-road space that would enable chargers to be fitted for an electric panel van. Overall, 65-70% of AFP van drivers need kerbside charging installed.
Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said: “As businesses move to electrify their company vehicles ahead of the Government’s 2030 deadline, the high number of drivers without space available off-road to have a charger installed is a major obstacle to electrification. This is especially the case for electric vans, whose drivers are much more likely to live in a terraced house or apartment and lack this kind of parking.
“In these locations, kerbside facilities need to be installed in order for crucial overnight charging to take place – and the new map has been created in order to show national and local government, as well as charging providers, exactly where these new chargers are needed by our members.
“It means that fleet operators can engage in conversations directly with these partners about how quickly charging can be installed. It’s very much a situation where, until facilities are available, it is very difficult for electric vans to be adopted. Our aim is for kerbside charging to be made available within a safe 4-5 minute walk for all of these employee drivers.
“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that many publicly available charging points are simply not big enough to take a panel van. For electric vans to become widely used by fleets, a massive upgrading of the general infrastructure is essential. “
The map was produced by net-zero analytics consultancy Field Dynamics. Partner Charlie Gilbert said: “We’ve created the data based on a driver having space for a typical electric van – in this, case, a Vauxhall Vivaro E – looking at 28 million homes in 408 lower level local authority areas. The map shows overall driver footprint demand with more detailed statistics about higher and lower kerbside charging need areas.
“We’ll be updating the map on an ongoing basis and are looking for it to be used by as many interested parties as possible.”
Paul added: “We’re very keen for more fleets to add their data to make the map ever more complete, and we’d like to hear from businesses who would be able to contribute their van driver information. This is, of course, anonymised and handled in accordance with all relevant data regulations. Details are available on our web site.”
The map was unveiled at the AFP conference, which centred on electric vehicles and was held at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. It attracted more than 230 delegates.
A summary of the map can be seen here while a detailed version can be obtained by e-mailing [email protected].
An initial line-up of speakers has been announced for the Association of Fleet Professionals’ (AFP) first-ever annual conference, which will take place at The British Motor Museum, Gaydon, on May 18th.
They include David Fisher of Virgin Media O2, Charlie Gilbert of Field Dynamics, Matt Hammond of Altrad, AFP chair Paul Hollick, Colin Hutt of Clarion Housing, Stuart Murphy of Royal Mail, Lee Jackson of Marston Holdings, Fleet Manager of the Year Steve Openshaw of Eric Wright, James Rooney of Centrica, Stewart Taylor of Police Scotland and Duncan Webb of ISS. More will follow.
The sessions planned cover EV Charging Infrastructure – looking at EV hardware and software solutions for fleets; The Trouble with Vans – a panel session covering the issues fleets are facing when deploying electric vans; Kerbside Charging Activities – presenting data gathered by the AFP from the UK’s top 20 fleets; Delivering a Smart EV Highway Charging Solution for Your Vehicles – using data and telematics to monitor EV use and optimise your fleet operations; and Salary Sacrifice Deployment – how to deploy a success EV “salsac” scheme to your employees.
Coronavirus has prevented the industry body from holding an event of this kind since its formation from the merging of ACFO (Association of Car Fleet Operators) and the ICFM (Institute of Car Fleet Management) in March, 2020, explained chair Paul Hollick.
“The AFP finds itself in the unusual position of being a major industry body that has never been able to provide its members with the opportunity to all meet in the same room, so we are very excited about the conference.
“Not only will it be a chance for fleet managers to get together, network and swap best practice ideas, but the speakers we have been able to secure so far are among the most knowledgeable in our sector.
“We’re concentrating on EV (electric vehicle) adoption and operation as our subject area because it is the overriding fleet topic of the moment and we are sure that anyone who attends the conference will learn a wealth of useful information.”
Awards will also be presented on the day to members who have achieved AFP accreditations since the organisation was launched and there will also be sessions from Allstar Business Solutions and MINA, who are event sponsors.
Registration is at https://www.theafp.co.uk/conference/ and open to AFP members only.
AFP membership options start at £99. Find out more about the benefits of joining the AFP here.
Marshall, Inchcape and Sytner have become the first major motor retailers to sign up to the new Dealer Standard from the Association of Fleet Operators (AFP).
The 28-point accreditation – launched at the end of February – is designed to ensure that fleet cars and vans are delivered in excellent condition to the end user, who is then shown the fundamentals of how to operate the vehicle and always treated courteously.
Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, said: “We’ve been very pleased with the initial response to the launch of the Dealer Standard and to have three such large and well-respected motor retailers become part of the initiative so quickly is very gratifying.
“Our intention was always that the Standard should become used right across the industry by all dealers that work with fleets and the commitment of these organisations represents an excellent start towards that objective.”
He added that a number of other major dealer groups had also expressed a strong interest in joining the programme and their names would be announced as they signed up in the coming weeks.
“Furthermore, we are also talking to a number of vehicle leasing companies who are keen on making the standard part of the obligations of their preferred dealer supplier networks, which would create substantial additional momentum”
Marshall served as part of the consultancy process when the AFP was creating the Dealer Standard, and Zoe Lawson, head of corporate sales, said that they were delighted to now commit to its requirements.
“From the outset, we believed that this was an excellent idea that would help to ensure that fleet customers across the motor industry received an excellent level of service and we’re very happy to now be part of the scheme following its launch.”
Motor retailers who are interested in joining the Dealer Standard should visit www.theafp.co.uk/afp-dealer-standard/ or e-mail [email protected] for further details. On committing to meet its requirements, they pay a fee and become a member of the AFP. The Dealer Standard logo can then be used in marketing materials and tenders to promote their participation in the programme.
Wow, what a night for many AFP Committee and Board members at the Fleet News Awards!
Huge Congratulations to:
AFP Board Director Debbie Floyde of Bauer Media, who was inducted to the illustrious Hall of Fame.
Committee Member, Steve Openshaw of Eric Wright Group for winning Fleet Manager of the Year and Fleet of the Year 251-1000
Committee member Gareth Jones and the team at Speedy won Excellence in Fleet Safety and Compliance
AFP Board Director Lorna McAtear of National Grid who won Wellbeing, Diversity and Inclusion in Fleet
And lastly well done to committee member Heidi Thompson and the team at Mitie for winning Fleet of the Year – more than 1,000 vehicles
And it doesn’t end there! Well done to committee member Lee Jackson and all at Marston Holdings who were highly commended for Most Improved Fleet and Fleet of the Year – more than 1000 vehicles. Congrats to both Lorna McAtear, National Grid and committee member Aaron Powell, Speedy Asset Service who were were highly commended in the Fleet Manager of the Year category. And further congratulations to Heidi Thompson and all at Mitie who were highly commended in the Excellence in Fleet Safety and Compliance and Environmental Fleet Trailblazer categories.
Quite the night!
You can see all the winners here. Congratulations to all of you!