The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has welcomed the range of electric vehicle grants and tax incentives announced recently by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

It said that the measures announced in the Budget would provide a major boost for those looking to speed up the transition to zero-emission transport.

BVRLA members (www.bvrla.co.uk) purchase nearly half of the new vehicles sold in the UK and are responsible for around a third of the electric-vehicle registrations every year.

In the run-up to this year’s Budget, the association and its members emphasised the importance of having a long-term transport decarbonisation strategy — focused on grants, tax incentives and infrastructure — that would give fleets and drivers the confidence to commit to a zero-emission future.

Retaining the Plug-in-Grant, helping businesses with the cost of connecting charge points to the grid, providing long-term certainty around Company Car Tax and making zero-emission cars exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty were all BVRLA ‘policy asks’ that were granted in the Budget.

Key announcements that will support fleets and help to drive the uptake of electric vehicles include: £532 million to maintain the Plug-In Car and Van Grants until March 2023; freezing company-car tax rates between 2023 and 2025; exempting all zero-emission vehicles from the VED ‘expensive car supplement’ until 2025; pledging £500 million for rapid charging infrastructure, including a new fund to support connections to the electricity grid; and eliminating the Van Benefit Charge for zero-emission vans from 2021.