Guest Blog: npower’s Wayne Mitchell on EVs

EVs: no longer a dream or an inconvenience The government has recently announced further funding to boost the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) market. £500m of support is on the table […]

EVs: no longer a dream or an inconvenience

The government has recently announced further funding to boost the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) market. £500m of support is on the table to reduce the cost of ultra-low-emission vehicles (the official name for EVs) and increase their appeal to motorists and businesses.

This is clearly an important issue to the cabinet, as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg chose to break the news himself. “The UK has the potential to emerge as a world leader in the development, design and manufacture of green vehicles,” he said. “Owning an electric car is no longer a dream or an inconvenience.”
This is something the hundreds of businesses our EV team work with have already cottoned on to. And now, due to a new project with local authorities across South Yorkshire, npower is part of a team working with local SMEs to make the benefits of switching to an EV a reality.

Subsidies for South Yorkshire businesses

Through the Inmotion! scheme, 80 businesses from the Barnsley, Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham areas will be able to receive a grant towards EV lease costs and charging post installation. npower is also installing 18 public charging posts across the region.
The scheme is open to any business in the participating local authority areas that employs less than 250 staff with turnover below €50m per year. The npower team will be advising on the best type of vehicle to choose and then handling all the administration, along with installing the charging post.

Plug-in motoring for less

The Inmotion! EV scheme is being funded partly by existing government grants – the additional £500m announced by Nick Clegg will be released in 2015. Under the scheme, South Yorkshire businesses will receive £10,500 towards the costs of leasing a plug-in van or £7,500 for a plug-in car, plus £500 towards the cost of installing a charging post. With a monthly lease rate from just over £212 for a Nissan Leaf, it’s easy to see why this scheme is likely to be very popular.

But subsidies aside, using an EV makes sound commercial sense, especially for businesses. Here are just some of the benefits:

• EVs are cheap to run – around £2 for 80 miles.

• You pay no road tax.

• There is a 0% company car benefit in kind until April 2105.

• An EV has no exhaust emissions, making it the most environmentally-friendly transport option (other than walking, or cycling, of course).

UK to have best charging network in Europe

As Nick Clegg was keen to emphasise, concern about range is no longer a barrier to switching to an EV. “The average journey made by motorists is just seven miles, with the typical range of a pure electric car being around 100 miles,” he said. “For the longer journeys, there will be a rapid charge point at every motorway service station by the end of 2014, and a network of 500 rapid chargers across the country by March 2015 – the best network in Europe.”

If you don’t happen to be lucky enough to work in South Yorkshire, there are still a range of attractive subsidies available. It’s certainly worth talking to our EV team – check out npower.com/EV to find out more.

This is a sponsored article.

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