With the use of electric vehicles on the rise, employers are going to be increasingly faced with the need to consider how both employees and any company fleet drivers will charge vehicles appropriately. Due to the business and low benefit in kind tax savings, now certainly seems to be a sensible time to consider transferring company fleets to electric vehicles.
Before committing to electric vehicle fleets, it is important to think about the practical steps that will need to be taken to ensure it will work efficiently for your business. For example, would you pay for a fleet driver to have a charge point installed at home or install them at your company premises? You will also need to decide if you will allow other employees to charge their own vehicles using the charge points provided.
WILL IT BE EXPENSIVE TO INSTALL THE CHARGE POINTS?
It can be, but there is help available with the use of the generous fleet and employee EV charge point installation grant, which has been recently launched by the government. For those with less than 250 employees, £4,250 is provided in grants to install five charge points, with a further £850 available for each additional charge point, up to a total of £15,000.
Multi-site companies can also claim grants of up to £15,000 for each site, across a maximum of 5 sites. This could mean the total grant available could be £75,000. We suggest talking through your individual situation with one of our expert advisers to find out the most financially efficient way you could make it work for your business.
HOW THE GRANT WORKS
To claim the grant, you will need to partner with an Office for Zero Emission (OZEV) approved installation company who will claim the grant on your behalf. We do have contacts that are able to handle the full installation and grant for you as one service. Generally, the steps below would be followed:
- You must register with DVLA using the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets registration form
- You agree work to be undertaken at a specific site with an OZEV approved installer
- Once work is complete, your approved installer will apply for the grant on your behalf
- Your installer will invoice you with a final invoice showing the total cost of installation (including any VAT charged)
- DVLA will process the application and inform your installer of the result
- If the grant is awarded, your installer will be paid the grant (which they will have already discounted from your bill)
Finally, it is worth noting that we expect the EV charge point installation grant to be very popular, therefore, if you are interested in taking advantage, we would recommend swift action to be taken.
GET IN TOUCH
If you would like to discuss any issues relating to the EV charge point installation grant and if it may be of benefit to your business, we would be happy to talk through your current situation and the options available to you. Get in touch by emailing enquiries@pmm.co.uk or calling 01254 679131.
A comment to note that the article does not constitute personalised advice and that advice should be sought before taking any action.