Small businesses could benefit from moving to electric fleets

While the benefits to individual car owners of a move to electric cars as their primary means of travel are obvious, particularly so for city dwellers, it is also fleet owners that are beginning to see the appeal of electric vehicles.

Electric vans offer a number of advantages that should lead small business owners to consider investing in an electric vehicle.

Electric vans of course offer enormous savings on fuel. In addition to the ease of charging a van at home and not having to contend with large queues at petrol forecourts. In addition there tends to

be fewer maintenance issues with electric vehicles, resulting in lower repair and maintenance costs. Government grants help take some of the sting off of an electric van purchase. Companies are even able to apply for grants to help meet the costs associated with setting up an electric charging network at their workplace.

An electric van is also a marketing asset for many businesses. Florists/micro breweries and other niche areas come to mind as the sorts of businesses likely to draw in socially conscious and social media savvy consumers. A vegan restaurant for example should probably opt for an electric van over an atmosphere-destroying diesel.

Other advantages include the fact that they do not have to pay the annual car tax (sometimes mistakenly referred to as a road tax) and the generous parking offers available to electric vehicles. For example in the borough of Westminster you only have to pay for 10 minutes of parking to able to stay for up to the maximum amount in the prescribed period.

For those hat work in Central London this has obvious benefits. Another benefit for Londoners with electric vehicles is the fact there is no congestion charge to pay.

As company car tax is calculated by a car’s CO2 emissions there are also obvious savings in this area.

As electric vehicles gain ground in popularity the benefits for small business owners are immense. Grants, discounts on parking and reductions in fuel and maintenance costs are among the reasons to choose electric vehicles when next considering a purchase for work.