Fuel card news
Haulage firms likely to favour fuel cards over electric van discounts
Published: 19/01/2012
Despite the offer of a 20 per cent discount on the cost of plug-in vans, many firms are likely to opt for the savings that a Be Fuel card provides across the UK road network.
Earlier this week, the Department of Transport (DofT) unveiled plans for an extension to the current plug-in car grant offered to van owners in the UK.
The scheme provides a 20 per cent discount on the cost of a plug-in van, following the extension of the scheme by the DofT.
Speaking during the unveiling of the extension, transport minister Norman Baker pointed to the lower running costs of these vehicles.
"Fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factors influencing their decision on what to buy," he explained.
Yet despite the proposed benefits of the initiative, organisers have evidently failed to test the current waters of the UK haulage market and the fact that the purchase of an electric van would bring significant expenditure to business running costs.
After all, with increases in business rates and taxes, a significant investment in an electric vehicle simply does not make sense for businesses where margins are so tight.
Car owners have evidently already voted with their feet, after the government admitted it had only received 892 applications for plug–in car grants in 2011.
The new proposal of a 20 per cent discount also hides the fact that one of these vans could cost up to £32,000, which is a cost many fleets will be unable to bear.
Instead, an investment in a fuel card provides the kind of immediate relief that most businesses can enjoy.
With the government increases fuel prices further in August of this year, purchasing something like a BP Plus Card can provide some much needed relief when it comes to the cost of fuel.
Drivers will gain access to competitively priced fuel at petrol stations up and down the UK, with BP and Total stations both eligible for use with the card.
Put that in comparison with an electric car, and the limited amount of charge points currently available in the UK, and the BP fuel card wins hands down as the ideal tool to reduce immediate costs at a time when businesses are looking for savings.