Tag Archives: EVs

Cardiff, Cardiff News, Electric Vehicles, EVs, EVs and Automotive News

FleetEV celebrates national contract win

Cardiff-based FleetEV is celebrating after being awarded a place on the Halton Housing Fleet Procurement Framework, managed by MUFG Corporate Markets, a division of MUFG Pension & Market Services (formerly Link Group).

FleetEV is an electric vehicle (EV) services provider that focuses on helping organisations transition to electric vehicles through comprehensive leasing, salary sacrifice, and fleet solutions tailored to diverse client needs.

The company has been awarded a place on three lots of the national framework: passenger cars, light commercial vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes, and light commercial vehicle conversions. The framework is valued at £450 million and can be used by any public sector body in the UK, opening up significant growth opportunities for the Cardiff-based business.

Jarrad Morris, CEO and Founder FleetEV, said: “We’re so pleased to have been awarded a place on the Halton Housing Fleet Procurement Framework, managed by MUFG Corporate Markets, especially on three separate lots. We feel passionately about changing the face of EVs across the country and are so pleased to take our brand nationwide through this framework. We look forward to engaging with the public sector through the framework, helping them adapt to EVs in a simple way.”

 

Darrell Slevin, Director and Head of Asset Finance Advisory at MUFG Corporate Markets, a division of MUFG Pension & Market Services (formerly Link Group), said: “We are delighted to welcome FleetEV onto the Halton Housing Outright Purchase Framework. Being on three lots will enable them to deliver a wide range of vehicles covering the public sector’s electric light commercial vehicle requirements throughout the UK.

“We wish them every success and look forward to working alongside them to deliver best value into the public sector.”

Electric Vehicles, News

Can mass adoption of EVs solve the air pollution problem?

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media

The government’s historic step towards climate control and transition to zero-emission cars and vans by 2030 has again come under fire with the introduction of new increased car tax changes from 1 April 2022. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which is calculated using the vehicle’s age and CO2 emissions, has increased drastically in line with the Retail Price Index measure of inflation.

Households that are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis will face one of the biggest rises in car tax when fuel remains at a record high, despite some decline due to the US release of oil from its strategic reserve.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and its implications

The UK car owners have to pay car taxes Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which is made up of two components: The first-year rate and the standard rate. When one buys a car or van, he has to pay a tax known as the first-year tax or the showroom tax. It depends on the CO2 emission figures when the vehicle was built.

The other component of VED is the standard tax, which the car owner has to pay annually, and its calculation is done by keeping the vehicle’s age and CO2 emissions into consideration. All those cars and vans with bigger and older engines that usually produce more CO2 are bound to be levied higher taxes, while it could be zero if the car doesn’t emit CO2.

As per the regulations, those cars producing emissions between 1 and 50g of CO2 per kilometre are liable to pay £165 and a first-year rate of £10, while cars emitting 51 to 75g of CO2 per km will have to pay £165 and first-year rate of £120, and so on.

Electric Vehicles exempt from VED

At the same time, electric vehicle (EV) owners don’t have to pay any standard rate, and this has become a major issue when the VED, which is popularly known as the road car tax, has risen for the majority of drivers. It is being said that electric vehicle users’ use of roads in the UK is being subsidised by other taxpayers.

Electric Vehicles have gained popularity in the last sometime in the UK, with the data showing a constant rise in registration for EVs. However, people are still concerned about range anxiety despite huge developments in battery manufacturing. Also, the availability of charging stations, the long charging time of batteries, and most importantly, the high upfront cost of the EVs have been restricting the transition from traditional fossil fuel cars to EVs. However, their benefits too can’t be ignored as they will not only lead to the government’s goal of zero-emission vehicles but will also create jobs and deliver public health benefits by improving air quality, and over half of the Britons would consider adopting an EV if it was available at a right price for them.

Course of action

It’s true that EVs don’t produce CO2 or exhaust fumes, but it is also a proven fact that they produce large amounts of tiny pollution particles from brake and tyre dust, which has been linked with cardiopulmonary toxicity and can result in serious illness.

Putting the tax burden on those who cannot afford to transition will only add to the woes of the households when the energy cap has gone up by 54 per cent, National Insurance rates are rising, and inflation is at its peak. The number of vehicles needs to be reduced from the roads and mass transit system to be expanded, not just the CO2 level of cars and vans with the forced mass adoption of zero-emission vehicles.

News, South West

Wessex Garages launches £100k advertising campaign for electric vehicles

 Wessex Garages is launching its largest-ever multimedia campaign, worth £100k, to raise awareness of its new and used electric vehicle range: EVs for the everyman. Called “The Quiet Revolution”, the street art inspired campaign will span radio, TV and digital media platforms, and was created by creative marketing agency, Fiora. Wessex Garages has supplied fleets to the likes of OVO Energy, Octopus Energy, and a fleet of 500 cards to the public sector.

The campaign promotes Wessex Garages’ extensive electric vehicle range focusing on affordable electric vehicles as opposed to high-end, expensive models. New EV prices start from £23,000 and used EV’s start at £17,000 and cover a wide variety of brands and models such as a Kia, Nisan, Hyundai, both new and used. The business also offers an ‘extended test drive’ – 48 hours to get to know the car and how your new EV will fit into your day-to-day life.

The campaign includes a website landing page ‘electric car matcher’ functionality that provides useful information to users such as information on charging points, grants, new/used car searches etc. This Car Matcher function allows the customer to identify their current driving needs. Once the user completes all four questions, the matcher platform will provide the customer with an extensive range of electric and hybrid cars to test drive, which also fits in with their lifestyle.

The campaign will be on TV from 1st September on ITV and Sky ADSmart and aims to deliver 7.3m impacts/impressions to around 1.5m people in the region over the course of the campaign.

MD, Chris Wiseman, and his team are passionate about EVs and the future of EV technology. A driver of a Kia eNiro himself, Chris comments, “We’re incredibly excited about this campaign. There are so many misconceptions surrounding electric vehicles, and we want to play a big part in changing that, starting with addressing the cost.”

“As an EV driver myself, along with the rest of the management team, we know the extensive benefits of going electric, from its environmental impact to the fact they’re cheaper to run and service. We’re constantly inspired by our customer’s passion and knowledge about electric vehicles.

“With the increasing popularity of EVs and the 2030 ban on new fossil fuel vehicles fast approaching, we really wanted to put our marketing budget into something bold and different.”

Michael Brigdale, Creative Director at Fiora, adds, “The campaign was inspired by Wessex Garages’ own description of the electric vehicle trend as a ‘Silent Revolution’. We took that thought across all media with a distinctive and unusually quiet approach which really stands out in today’s noisy marketing landscape.”