Electric Van Receives Government Boost

A new plug-in van grant has been announced by the government which will save van insurance customers £3,400 on the cost of a new Renault Kangoo ZE.

This will be music to the ears of those van insurance customers who are looking for a more sustainable form of transport, which will allow them to avoid the rising costs of fuel.

The move is expected to be particularly well received given that the Renault Kangoo ZE was recently unveiled as What Van’s Van of the Year 2012. Any van insurance customer who does decide to go electric, can be confident in the calibre of electric van they are buying.

However, if the Renault Kangoo ZE is not the van for you, the new grant does not stop there. Van buyers will be offered a 20% reduction on the sale price of any electric vehicle which meets the qualifying criteria set.

The scheme has been welcomed by electric van manufacturers, who, until now, have found the high price of electric vans has kept customers away. With the low running costs of electric vans clearly established, a 20% reduction in price is expected to bring a surge in demand.

Transport minister Norman Baker, said: “Electric vehicles are the arrow head for a low carbon revolution in motoring and as more models come to market we’ll begin to see sales gather pace.

“Now it’s time for van buyers to get their chance to go electric. This is great news for businesses given the lower running costs of these vehicles - fleet buyers tell us that this is one of the most important factors influencing their decisions about what to buy.”

A recent survey of van insurance customers has shown that a lot of small van drivers make short, planned journeys before returning back to a fixed base. This bodes well for sales of the Kangoo ZE, as electric vans are ideally suited to this purpose and can complete such tasks extremely cheaply.

It is yet to be seen whether the 20% saving will entice van insurance customers as much as anticipated, however, with public and private sector businesses trying to cut costs across the board, it is not expected to be long until fleet buyers turn on to electric vans.

If you’ve recently bought an electric van and would like to insure it comprehensively but also cheaply, give Van Compare a try today. We scour the market to find you the cheapest quotes online.