BVRLA Chief Executive Toby Poston comments; June has been a busy month in Westminster. In the last three weeks we’ve heard the Comprehensive Spending Review, which paved the way for the respective long-term strategies for the UK’s Infrastructure and Industrial development.
The freshest, this week’s Industrial Strategy shows that the Government is prioritising and investing heavily in UK automotive.
It has big ambitions and serious plans for ensuring that this country has a long-term future in developing and manufacturing zero emission, software-defined and autonomous vehicles.
Elsewhere in the documents, there were tantalisingly vague references to the fleets that operate and finance these vehicles.
It is encouraging to see that the Government is actively acknowledging how the changing face of our automotive industry will influence other sectors too. Beyond the plans to invest in the UK’s vehicle production capabilities are plans to evolve the nation’s green energy credentials. The two go hand in hand.
Battery production and end-of-life management are given due consideration, while the opportunities behind vehicle-to-grid technology also come into play. The focus on speeding-up grid connections will be welcomed by many too.
Within the Industrial Strategy, the Government has pledged to keep the economic opportunities of net zero a constant priority.
Even with net zero as a common thread, the Strategy goes beyond decarbonisation. Plans to cut regulatory costs by 25% this parliament are a very appealing prospect, although some may argue such changes are long overdue.
It was also welcome to see the Government acknowledge the vital role played by tax incentives, where it cited full expensing and Benefit-in-Kind rates. The key thing now is to widen their impact.
Full expensing could be transformative in making electric commercial vehicles more rentable, while 0% BiK for used EVs would provide essential relief to a beleaguered second-hand market.
Most eyes are now focused on the £1.8bn of new support outlined for electric vehicles (£1.4bn) and charging infrastructure (£400m) in the recent Spending Review.
The BVRLA will continue to work with colleagues across Government to ensure that their rhetoric becomes reality and the ‘EV Demand’ side of the Phase Out Targets equation gets the close attention it deserves.
