The Government is cutting red tape for businesses using e-vans bringing them in line with petrol and diesel vans for the first time.
E-vans weighing between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes will now be moved from heavy vehicle testing requirements to Class 7 MOT rules, meaning less strenuous tests, more flexibility, and savings of up to 60% on MOTs.
From 1 June, new electric vans in this weight class will only need their first MOT three years after registration, rather than one year after registration.
As e-vans are heavier than petrol and diesel vans, they have until now, faced more stringent testing requirements than petrol and diesel vans of the same size.
The government said the move builds on its £1bn commitment to back businesses to go electric, including savings of up to £5,000 off new zero emission vans and up to £81,000 off the heaviest zero emission trucks.
Already, one in four new cars sold are now electric, and there are more than 2 million EVs in the UK.
Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister Keir Mather said: “We’re backing UK businesses to expand and decarbonise their fleets, and that’s why we’re investing over £1 billion to support businesses to roll out e-vans, trucks and the charging needed to support them.
