EVs make up half of company cars delivered in first quarter of 2023
Nearly half of the company cars delivered in the first quarter of 2023 were battery electric vehicles (BEV), according to the latest BVRLA Leasing Outlook Report data.
BEVs were responsible for 49% of new business contract hire cars, whilst the salary sacrifice market grew 41% year-on-year, with 91% of registrations pure electric. These figures are in contrast to the retail market, where BEV sales were responsible for 16% of new sales and 1% of used purchases in the first quarter.
“We have had a two-tier transition to zero emission motoring for some time and this growing gap between the fleet and retail sectors’ appetite for decarbonisation could put the 2030 phase-out target in jeopardy,” said BVRLA Director of Corporate Affairs, Toby Poston.
“All these fleet BEV registrations will hit the used market in three or four years’ time. The last year has already shown an increasing imbalance between the fast-growing supply of used electric cars and demand that isn’t keeping up. We are working with policymakers, members and colleagues from across the industry to address these used market barriers.”
Diving further into the detail of Q1 leasing figures reveals more winners and losers amid the general sense of a plateauing market. Business contract hire remains positive, with the van sector performing particularly strongly – BVRLA members now operate 100,000 more vans than they did pre-pandemic.
The biggest winner has been salary sacrifice schemes, with a 41% year-on-year rise in volumes as employees, including drivers who had previously accepted a cash allowance in lieu of a company car, have seized this cost-effective opportunity to access zero emission cars. For their part, employers have welcomed the chance to offer a highly valued, no cost benefit during a period of wage inflation, and to make an early dent in their Scope 3 emissions from staff commuting to work.
Elsewhere, the figures are more mixed. The 40.1% increase in fleet car sales reported by the SMMT during the first quarter of 2023 has not filtered through to BVRLA members’ car fleet, which remained virtually static between Q4 2022 to Q1 2023, at 1,368,799 vehicles.
The BVRLA Fleets in Charge Conference will explore all aspects of road transport decarbonisation with a programme of leaders and experts from across Government and the automotive and motor finance sectors. The event takes place in Westminster on 20 September and tickets are priced from £149. Transport + Energy are media partner for the event and will have a stand at the event.
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