Fleet management company Arval has welcomed the government’s decision to introduce the MOT for electric vans from 1 May.
Arval had previously argued that the loophole in the law exempting plug-in vans from taking the roadworthiness test could cause problems for fleets in establishing a maintenance structure for the vehicles.
“Because fleet vans are often run into three, four and five years, the MOT provides useful structure for fleets when it comes to maintaining vehicles, as well as proving they are being looked after to legal standards,” said Arval fleet CV consultant Eddie Parker.
He stressed that Arval supports the uptake of electric vans and added: “Our view is that pressure to reduce city centre emissions will mean adoption of electric vans by certain fleets could be quite rapid and we are very much behind this trend.
“The improvements we are seeing in the new generation of models including improved range, faster charging and bigger payloads are all very positive developments.
Arval is to launch a new guide, Delivering the future: A guide to operating electric vans, at the CV Show that aims to provide operational guidance for fleets that are starting to run electric vehicles.