SSE, one of the UK’s leading utility providers, has identified the Renault Zoe Van as being the ideal vehicle to help with the electrification of its commercial vehicle fleet and contribute to the company’s commitment to have ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.

SSE has introduced four Zoes into its commercial vehicle fleet after the UK’s only fully electric car-derived van was recognised as the perfect replacement for several ICE vehicles where the range of existing commercial-focused EVs had previously compromised the transition to pure electric power. The company is set to take delivery of a further eight with more in the pipeline.

SSE’s new Zoe Van’s will be used by its supervisors and team leaders to visit the company’s operational sites and developments throughout Scotland. The award-winning Zoe Van has a range of up to 245 miles on a single charge enables SSE’s personnel to visit more remote areas, particular in the north west of the country, where the charging infrastructure can be limited, while enjoying the refinements and drive associated with the Zoe E-tech 100 percent electric passenger car upon which it is based. At the same time, the dedicated load area allows operatives to easily and cleanly transport the specialised tools, wet weather clothing and PPE they require for their roles.

As well as enabling SSE to continue its drive to have 3,500 of its 4,000 commercial vehicles fully electrified by 2030, the Zoe Van will help the company to lower its environmental impact in terms of both emissions and noise. Notably, SSE estimates that over a five-year period each Zoe Van will provide a saving of 23.5 tonnes of CO2.

In addition to the driving range of the Zoe Van, SSE’s decision was influenced by its Whole Life Costs being lower than those of a similar-sized petrol car-derived van, offering significant savings in terms of fuel, VED and servicing costs. The spread and support of the Renault dealer network, plus the standard eight-year battery warranty, further enhanced the appeal of the Zoe Van to SSE, while its flexible charging means SSE’s personnel will be able to charge their vehicles at home without issue.

The Zoe vans were converted to SSE’s specification by Renault-accredited converter, Qi, which added details including a hygiene station and fire extinguisher. All were specified in Business trim, which includes such standard features as full LED headlights, automatic air conditioning, heated electrically adjustable door mirrors, cruise control/speed limiter, EASY LINK radio with 7-inch touch screen and Smartphone integration with Android AutoTM and Apple CarPlayTM. Completing the new Zoe Van is a unique wrap by Mediafleet, which haloes their pure electric power and even glows in the dark to ensure that SSE’s commitment to electrifying its commercial fleet can be seen day and night!

“As an EV100 company that is committed to switching its fleet to electric, and with our focus on renewable energy and making a significant contribution to building low-carbon electricity systems fit for the future, introducing the Zoe Van to our operations fits perfectly with our strategy and ethos” said Neil Chamberlain, National EV Manager, SSE. “The range of electric LCVs has always been a bit of an issue in the past for the roles that these vehicles are used for, so that of the Zoe Van now gives us the option to make the transition and look at other areas where a van is traditionally used but there isn’t a need for a high payload. The comfort is a big benefit to our operatives and, for those that are negotiating the narrower, more demanding roads of the Highlands, the compact dimensions are another welcome bonus. With the Zoe Van we’re further lowering our environmental impact at no detriment to our operational costs or effectiveness.”

The Zoe Van is based on the multi award-winning Zoe electric passenger car, which won the ‘Best Small Electric Car’ category in the 2020 What Car? Awards and which has been honoured at the annual What Car? ceremony for the last seven years. The commercial version is already an award-winner, having recently won the compact van ‘Best Value for Ownership Costs’ category in the new What Car? Van Awards.

Combining the same advanced specification of the Zoe with a load volume of one cubic metre and a maximum payload of up to 457kg excluding the driver (Business specification), the Zoe Van is available in two generous trim levels – Business and Business+.

It offers a WLTP combined range of up to 245 miles on a single charge on Business models and via the 50kW DC charging option can be charged from zero to 80 per cent in just one hour and ten minutes. Its R110 motor delivers zero to 31mph acceleration in only 3.9 seconds – making the Zoe Van electric ideal for urban journeys with stop-start traffic, and a perfect fit for tasks such as multidrop deliveries, and for use by utility companies and local authorities, for example. All of which are completed with zero tailpipe emissions.

As it’s based on the regular Zoe, the Zoe Van benefits from a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, mirroring the rest of Renault’s car range. The first two years feature unlimited mileage restrictions, while the remaining three have a 100,000-mile limit. In addition, the E-Tech electric 50 battery receives an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Read more: RENEWABLE ENERGY MAGAZINE

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The Government is warning that it is “unlikely” it will be able to give advance notice of any future cuts to the plug-in car and van grant.

A reduction in the grant for the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) was announced without any notice in March.

The electric car grant was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 and excluded models that cost more than £35,000 with immediate effect.

The fleet and leasing industry was critical of not having been given prior notice of the reduction, with some customers missing out because they were part way through the order process.

However, representatives from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), part of the Department for Transport (DfT) which administers the grant, confirmed they are “unlikely to be able to provide additional notice” given the need to manage the grant budget “on behalf of taxpayers and future grant applicants”.

Attending a meeting organised by the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) to provide retailers with clarity around the grant following recent cuts, OZEV said that going forward, the Government intends to “gradually deliver a managed exit” from the grants (which have been extended until 2022/23) although uptake will continue to be supported through other measures.

OZEV added that the relatively low levels of demand when the grant was first introduced meant they were able to give advance notice of rate changes.

However, when the market was given advance notice of a reduction in the grant in 2018, the news sparked a rush from buyers eager to qualify for the grant at the higher level.

It reported that grant-eligible vehicles were sold at a rate that was more than six times higher than normal, causing officials to bring the original date forward.

When a further cut was announced in the plug-in car grant last year, the industry was just given a few hours’ notice.

OZEV also highlighted they are “unlikely” to offer leeway for grant changes similar to the 28-day, which was offered following the most recent changes.

This allowed dealers and manufacturers to claim at previous rates and eligibility criteria for any orders that were placed by customers in the 28 days before the grant rate change which were not logged on the portal.

Sue Robinson, NFDA chief executive, says that the meeting with OZEV officials was “extremely useful” in providing retailers with further clarity around the plug-in grant, including details on the definition of price cap which not all dealers are aware of.

“Going forward, we will continue to work closely with OZEV to best represent our members’ interests and, in turn, provide franchised dealers with clear and timely guidance,” she said.

The price cap definition to qualify for the plug-in grant says cars must be priced below £35,000 RRP.

In particular, the price cap definition includes “any non-standard option fitted by the manufacturer or dealer affecting the capacity of the battery, drive train configuration or maximum net power”; and it does not include “any non-standard option fitted by the manufacturer or dealer which does not affect the capacity of the battery, drivetrain configuration or maximum net power”.

In response to the new £35,000 qualifying threshold, carmakers have been rushing to adjust electric vehicle (EV) prices, so they remain eligible for the plug-in car grant (PiCG).

Nissan, Vauxhall, Peugeot, BMW and Hyundai, which had electric cars priced just above the new £35,000 threshold, reduced vehicle costs to remain eligible for the grant.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has expanded the ID4 range, with a new entry-level City model priced below the qualifying threshold.

Read more: FleetNews

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We take an in-depth look at how the UK is getting ready for the switch to electric

The UK car industry has weathered several storms in recent years, with Brexit uncertainty causing significant difficulties, and Covid-19 closing dealerships and factories. But with a free-trade agreement with the EU now in place for cars, and the UK’s vaccine rollout well under way, things – while some way off being ‘normal’ – are more optimistic than they have been in recent times.

The future brings more challenges, though. The Government’s confirmation in November last year that sales of new cars without significant electrification would be banned in 2030, before new internal-combustion-engined vehicles are outlawed entirely in 2035, sets a high bar for the automotive industry, not to mention car buyers.

While we have a Brexit deal that’s largely favourable to the automotive industry, strict rules-of-origin legislation means that by 2027, at least 55 per cent of an electric car must be built in the UK or EU in order for the vehicle to remain exempt from import or export tariffs. Given that batteries and motors tend to comprise a huge proportion of an EV’s value, and these components are typically made outside the UK and EU, the race is on for car makers to produce batteries and motors here and on the continent.

Such challenges present enormous opportunities, and there’s a growing sense that the UK is well positioned to hit its ambitious 2030 and 2035 targets for EV adoption, and capitalise on EU-UK trade conditions that will compel us to build our own EV tech. These targets and quotes will require sea changes both from the industry and consumers, though, so here we ask the simple question: how prepared is the UK for the EV revolution?

Small distances, big market
The UK is a small country. It only takes around two and a half hours to drive the width of England from Liverpool to Hull, or 14 and a half hours to get from Land’s End in Cornwall, to John O’Groats in Scotland.

By comparison, driving across the entire US from New York to San Francisco would involve a minimum of 43 hours on the road without stops, while crossing the breadth of Texas alone is a 12-hour endeavour.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, drivers in the UK tend to cover lower mileages than those in other countries, with the average Brit covering just 7,400 miles a year. With charge times for EVs significantly longer than filling the tank of an equivalent petrol or diesel vehicle, this means the inconvenience of topping up a car’s batteries needs to happen far less frequently here than it would in the US, for example.

The UK’s small land mass also means that it’s far less work to implement a comprehensive nationwide public charging infrastructure – a key requirement for those who regularly cover distances longer than an EV’s range – than it would be in Russia, for example. When you add in the fact that the average length of each car journey is around 8.5 miles in the UK, plus consider ‘destination chargers’ are becoming increasingly common at supermarkets, hotels, gyms and elsewhere, it’s clear that frequent top-ups, rather than big weekly charges, are likely to be the norm for many, especially those without driveways and garages. One analogy many use, for example, is that charging an EV should be approached more like topping up a smartphone battery – something that’s much easier if you have multiple chargers dotted about your house.

On top of this, we need to consider how keen us Brits tend to be on getting a fresh set of wheels. The UK market is second only to Germany’s for new cars in Europe, so our ability to get EVs on the road is significant, and ably shown by the fact that plug-in cars (EVs and PHEVs) outsold diesel models in January 2021. So while there are around 31 million cars in the UK, our fondness for buying new ones should stand us in good stead for making the eventual switch to electric faster than some nations.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), believes the UK “undoubtedly” has advantages in the transition to electric vehicles in these regards. He told us: “UK consumers are often quick to embrace new technologies, we travel fewer miles on average than some other countries and we are a relatively affluent market.”

Rachel Maclean MP, under secretary of state for transport, echoed these sentiments, praising the UK’s “big market” and the fact Brits are “very keen to buy cleaner cars”.

“In 2019, we were the third-largest market in Europe for ultra-low-emission vehicles behind Norway and Germany,” Maclean added. “and that number is going up all the time.”

However small our country may be, and however keen Brits are on new cars, the uptake of EVs goes hand-in-hand with the growth of reliable, affordable and convenient chargepoints. The SMMT’s Mike Hawes said the Government’s commitment to improving rapid charging facilities was “a welcome step”, but argued that “if motorists are to be confident that recharging is as easy as refuelling, significant investment will be necessary.” He added: “In particular, EV drivers need to see a massive increase in public on-street charging, because not every driver has designated off-street parking.”

Read more: AUTO EXPRESS

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