Tax changes in vehicle rethinking replacement cycle replacement

Some fleet operators are considering the new replacement cycles as a result of imminent fiscal changes, according to Management Fleet Management.

The rates of new vehicle excise duties (VED), which enter into force in April, together with the decrease of residual values ​​for electric vehicles (EV) are described as “perfect storm” for fleets.

Andrew Leech, the chief of Mercia Fleet Management and the founder of Fleet Evolution, said: “At the moment we are on a very irregular market, many companies must reappear their two-point fleet strategies. First of all, fleet managers look at the time of replacement of their fleets, especially those who purchased directly with a high percentage of EV.

“We see such fleets that postpone their replacement cycles and remain outside the waste markets, in the hope that the residual values ​​of the elds will improve. As a result, some resort to short -term rental to connect any gaps in the fleet, which can be very expensive. “

Ved hiking, announced in the autumn budgetIt applies to both pure and plow (phev) hybrids.

Some operators will see that their liability for EVs adapted on a large scale increases on the vehicle from zero to 2,490 pounds over a period of five years.

The first year VED rates are raised from zero to 10 pounds for electric vehicles with batteries (BEV) and from zero to 110 pounds for PHEVs that emit between 1-50g/km of CO2.

The second year rates increased more dramatic for bevs – from zero to 195 pounds.

In addition, the evils that cost over 40,000 pounds that are registered in April will now become responsible for the expensive car allowance, also called the tax on luxury cars.

It will increase from 410 to 425 pounds from April and is applied annually for five years, starting from the first standard VED payment when the car has one year.

Mercia believes that a way to exercise greater cost control could be the adoption of a more flexible fleet policy, one that is not blocked in a long-term leasing strategy.

“An option is to flexibly introduce the subscriptions, rather than long -term rentals – especially for enterprises with seasonal or contractual requirements,” said Leech.