Electric Vehicles

Road to Zero “in the balance”

Epensive public charging costs and falling used vehicle values means the UK's Road to Zero "remains in the balance", it has been claimed.
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James Evison

Despite progress in chargepoints and the availability of electric vehicles (EV), expensive public charging costs and falling used vehicle values means the UK’s Road to Zero “remains in the balance”, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

The BVRLA’s annual report, produced in association with Ricardo, said that a lack of chargepoints at destinations such as hotels and leisure venues is a significant “unseen” barrier to EV adoption.

In addition, it said that the “affordability” challenge was being met with with 12 models now available for under £25,000 as of May 2025, although still lagging the 26 petrol or diesel ICE models in the same price range.

But the used battery electric vehicle market is “performing worse” than in other European countries, with the average used EV price falling 46% between 2021 and 2024, compared to 19% for ICE.

Overall, the 2025 report shows how targeted incentives are continuing to support electric vehicle adoption via leasing, be that personal or business.

Where comparable incentives are not available – such as in the rental sector or among van users – progress “remains slow”, it said. Utilisation rates of electric vehicles in the rental sector have decreased year on year, underlining how challenging the transition is in that part of the industry.

The report shows that deployment of chargepoints continues to progress on the exponential curve required to reach 300,000 by 2030 however.

Toby Poston, BVRLA Chief Executive, said:

“The UK’s transition to a zero-emission future is in its most challenging period. On the plus side, corporate demand for electric cars remains solid and salary sacrifice schemes continue to democratise access to EVs for hard-to-reach demographics.

“Offsetting that positivity is what’s happening in the used market. Used EV values are falling relentlessly, destroying value on an epic scale. This death by a thousand cuts is costing fleets hundreds of millions of pounds and eroding confidence across our industry. We know the Government is listening.

“The £1.8bn committed to support EV uptake last month could make a difference, and we’ll continue to work with government to highlight how this money can achieve the best return on investment.”

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said:

“Transport is the engine of our economy and its success is key for delivering our climate and growth missions. The transition to zero emissions cars, vans and HGVs, brings huge opportunities to futureproof our world class automotive and logistics sectors and secure the long-term sustainable growth this country needs.

“I welcome BVRLA’s Road to Zero report and look forward to continuing to work alongside industry on this journey to deliver our joint goal of a greener and more prosperous future.”

Image courtesy of the BVRLA

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