Environmental advocates and consumer groups are often at odds with investor-owned electric utilities.

In fact, NRDC is currently opposing electric utilities in several active lawsuits. However, we all agree that electrifying our nation’s cars, trucks, and buses can benefit everyone and that the transition must benefit communities most in need of relief from pain at the pump and from toxic, vehicular air pollution.

The Edison Electric Institute, Illinois Citizens Utility Board, National Consumer Law Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club have issued a joint statement underscoring that agreement. The full statement is available here and is reproduced below. This is a landmark accord that unites these groups for the first time on the shared goal of electrifying our transportation system and ensuring those benefits are shared broadly.

This is important because transportation is now the largest source of carbon pollution in the nation.

Electric utilities are currently investing $1.4 billion in programs designed to accelerate the electrification of the transportation sector, largely helping to speed the deployment of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). Nearly $1 billion of that collective investment is in programs that prioritize under-served communities, and $345 million is allocated directly to disadvantaged communities and low-income customers.

And the largest utility transportation electrification programs approved to-date will speed the deployment of zero-emission trucks, buses, port equipment, and other vehicles that emit dangerous diesel pollution that disproportionately harms low-income communities.

Utility investments to accelerate transportation electrification also pay broader dividends. Multiple studies reveal that widespread EV charging can provide billions of dollars in reduced utility bills resulting from the fact that EV charging brings in new revenue in excess of associated costs, money that is returned to all customers in the form of lower rates and bills.

Read more: NRDC

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CAR TAX changes are coming into effect in 2020 and your employer could be the answer to getting a brand new vehicle for a cheap price tag.

Car tax rules for company vehicles are set to change this year which will see a complete ban on benefit-in-kind rates as rates are dramatically cut. The updates will slash benefit-in-kind rates to zero percent from 16 in a massive win for those wishing to get involved with the electric car revolution ahead of 2035’s petrol and diesel ban.

Changes to the rates will see some of the most popular EV’s on the market go for budget prices as the government aims to increase the uptake of the machines.

A premium Tesla Model 3 is estimated to cost around £530 under a 48-month contract. However, company car owners could see a 42 percent discount by paying just £307 per month.

Discounts would also come into force across the affordable market with Renault’s Zoe around 32 percent cheaper.

The city runaround is estimated to cost around £270 per month through a finance deal but a slash in benefit-in-kind rates for company car owners could see motorists paying just £184 per month.

Read more: Express

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Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have continued to soar, exceeding the 100,000 mark in January 2019.

Sales were up 203.9% compared to 2019, according to new statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), with 4,0054 BEVs registered during the month compared to 1,334 in the year previously.

However, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) outperformed BEVs for the first time since May 2019, with 4,788 registered in the month.

Combined, alternatively fuelled vehicle registrations reached 11.9% of the market in January, which the SMMT says is the highest on record and is up from 6.8% the year prior.

The figures come in a week where it was announced the government will seek to bring the phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, and include hybrids within this for the first time.

Mike Hawes, chief executive SMMT, said:

“While ambition is understandable, as we must address climate change and air quality concerns, blanket bans do not help short-term consumer confidence.

“To be successful, government must lead the transition with an extensive and appropriately funded package of fiscal incentives, policies and investment to drive demand. We want to deliver air quality and environmental improvements now but need a strong market to do so.”

As sales of electric vehicles increase, the amount of charging infrastructure across the UK also does. By the end of 2019, there were 17,000 public charge points recorded on Zap-Map and over 10,500 charging locations.

Read more: Current News

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From April, company car tax will be scrapped for electric car buyers; experts predict big surge in demand for EVs

The electric car revolution is poised to hit the UK this year, but not because of purchase grants, green-shaming or European Union regulations. Instead, the expected sales boom is set to be driven largely by a change to company car tax regulations.

After the upcoming changes were announced in July 2019, sales of EVs doubled in the second half of the year compared with the first half, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Business lease firm Alphabet reported a 165% rise in orders for plug-in vehicles.

The UK’s company car market is big business. Up to the end of November last year, 53% of cars sold went to fleets, SMMT figures show. Company cars aren’t free; they are a heavily taxed perk and, since 2002, the government has pegged the rate of duty to the car’s official CO2 emission figure. That move forced drivers out of thirsty petrol-engined cars and into more frugal diesels as companies sought to reduce the tax burden on their employees.

This year, however, the focus switches to plug-in cars. From April, people who choose electric cars will pay 0% company car tax: nothing at all.

“The fleet sector has a lot of pent-up demand, and this tax incentive could lead to a big surge in EVs,” said Gerry Keaney, chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

Simultaneously, company car tax will for the first time be calculated using the CO2 figures generated by the new, tougher Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test (WLTP) regime. In short, the government is offering a huge, juicy carrot for drivers choosing electric and plug-in hybrid cars, and an extra whack of the stick for staying with conventional diesels or petrols.

Read more: Autocar

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When it comes to owner satisfaction, electric car drivers are the happiest of the lot

We road and lab test hundreds of new cars each year, identifying the heroes and villains across the price spectrum. We also survey thousands of car owners, so you can use the results of our annual car survey to find out which models are the most reliable, and which are likely to leave you frustrated at the side of the road. However, when it comes to really knowing a car inside out, nothing beats living with it for a prolonged period of time. That’s why our annual car survey has a specific section on satisfaction – namely how happy you are with your car and how likely you are to recommend it to a friend.

Each year, we dig into our data and discover which cars that kept their owners most satisfied, across our car classes. This is separate to our reliability ratings, which tell you how reliable a car is. It’s also separate to our overall test scores for each model, which are made up of the results of our independent lab tests, as well as our reliability ratings. Instead, our satisfaction scores focus purely on how happy owners are. We’re seeing electric cars taking the top spot in a number of key car classes. Below are the areas in which they’ve overtaken the established competition to become the most satisfying cars to own.

Which small electric cars make their owners happy?

Buyers expect a lot from the small car class, despite their compact dimensions and (mostly) modest prices. This class is easily the most popular in the UK, with UK bestsellers such as the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa championed for their blend of hatchback practicality and ease of use in congested city centres. However, of all the new small cars we’ve tested, it’s the BMW i3 (in both pure EV and ‘range extender hybrid’ guises) and the zero-emissions Renault Zoe that have taken podium places for owner satisfaction.

Read more: Which?

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