TRANSPORT AND MATERIALS HANDLING TRANSPORT AND MATERIALS HANDLING IS IT AN ELECTRIC REVOLUTION?
In the not-too-distant future electric vehicles will be everywhere, but what are the hurdles in the way? Will McGill reports.
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any of you out there might be starting to consider what vehicles to get next; whether it be petrol/diesel or maybe some of you are even considering electric. So, what is the lay of the land in the EV game? Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express, spoke at Retra’s (Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers’ Association) conference about what the future of EV looks like and the big hurdles that are around the corner. Fowler said: “Is it an electric revolution? Yeah, I’d say so. It is interesting when you talk about sustainability, with electricity only being part of that story for the car industry.
“There are a lot of facts around electric vehicles (EV) that are just incorrect, some of these are even coming from journalists. They should at least get their facts right before being critical of the subject. There is also a lot of “hearsay”, as well, that goes around. I recently had a discussion about the type of car that was responsible for the fire at Luton airport (in October 2023), I can assure you that it was not a pure electric vehicle.”
Fowler moved on to talk about the “very political decision” to push back the electric vehicle mandate from 2030 to 2035. “The thing that disappointed the car industry is that they had no idea that it was coming, you would have thought a conversation would have taken place. But what everyone needs to pay attention to is the push back of the 2030 to 2035 is a bit of a sideshow,” he said. “The thing you must pay attention to is the ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) mandate which will come into effect in 2024. This is for car manufacturers and it states that 22 per cent of the vehicles they sell must be electric and 10 per cent of the vans they sell must also be electric or they risk fines of up to £15,000 per vehicle over that amount. “There are ways around this through buying credit but that target is going to get even tougher. By 2030 each manufacturer will have to deal with these guidelines; 80 per cent of its car must be electric and 70 per cent of its vans must be electric.”
What merchants and customers might find in 2024 is that manufacturers will try to sell their remaining stock of non-electric vehicles and they will be saving their electric vehicles till next year – so the manufacturer can meet its EV targets.
One of the important questions around EVs is: whether now is the right time to buy? How long do we have to wait until the car industries R&D catches up with the demand, which would then drive the price down. Fowler commented: “I think the “whole life” cost sum is something that you need to look at. I always come back to this phrase “it is very difficult to buy a car well but it is very easy to buy a car badly”. “You have really got to look at the incentives, the tax benefits, the cost of fuel and you have got to get the spread sheet out to see if it is right to do it now.
“In my opinion the answer is yes, prices will come down at some stage. Whether they will be on a similar level to diesel vehicles of today is another question.
“The one thing I would say to anyone looking at buying a vehicle is to make sure you future proof yourself and don’t listen too much to the politicians, because who knows where they are going to go. Nobody saw the extension of the ULEZ scheme. The only thing I know that is for certain is that the lower the CO2 of your vehicle and your emissions, the better off you will be in terms of tax.
“EVs are coming whether we like it or not, let’s hope the infrastructure is in place for when that happens.” BMJ
James Burrell Builders Merchants renews silver accreditation under the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) at all 11 branches
Independent builders merchant, James Burrell, has once again achieved Silver accreditation under the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).
FORS is a voluntary scheme for fleet operators who strive for best practice in safety, efficiency and environmental protection. The scheme is open to any business operating a vehicle on a public highway, such as heavy goods vehicles, vans, passenger-carrying vehicles, and cars. In order to maintain the silver accreditation, James Burrell has maintained exemplary levels of compliance in legal requirements, safety, fuel efficiency, and environmental improvement across its fleet of 51 vehicles.
Paul Butler, James Burrell’s health and safety 26
delivering our goods in a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly manner.
and transport manager, said: “As a company, we hold safety and compliance, of everything we do, in the highest regard and we are committed to ensure our services reflects this. “We will continually pride ourselves on
We commit a lot of time, effort and training in every aspect of the business to ensure the FORS Silver and Bronze accreditations are achieved, and we are pleased the hard work of our teams have been recognised. I would particularly like to thank Rob Ladley and Graham Johnston for all of the hard work they put into ensuring our fleet of vehicles and drivers operate safely and within the scope of current legislation.
Also, the continued effort of the drivers keeping up to date with e-learning and Safe Urban Driving training to protect cyclists and other vulnerable road users”. BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2024
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