This EVision Electric Vehicles guide to electric vans includes everything you need to know before renting an electric van. Learn about the driving ranges of electric vans, how they’re different to drive, how much they cost to run and the financial grants available.
Whether you own your own commercial business, or just need a van for your personal use, there are some brilliant all-electric vans on the market today. Let’s take a look at how they work!
Why should I consider renting an electric van?
First things first, let’s address why you should be renting an electric van! Battery electric vehicles (BEVS), also known as pure electric vehicles, are going to play a huge role in hitting our carbon neutral targets by 2050. Plus, they’re becoming extremely popular.
According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, over 12,000 new pure electric vehicles were registered in April 2022. In comparison only 6,000 new diesel vehicles were purchased. All-electric vehicles were actually the only fuel type that saw an increase in total sales and in their market share.
EVs now dominate 10.8% of the new car market, meaning roughly one in ten vehicles will be all-electric. As a result of this, manufacturers are on a mission to design high-quality electric vans that benefit businesses.
While you might think you’ve got a few years before you need to consider driving electric, we really believe that time is now! Electric vehicles are the future of mobility, but they’re also the present. Of course, there’s the social pressure of driving an eco-friendly vehicle, but there’s so many other great factors too.
What are the benefits of driving an electric van?
There are tons of benefits to renting an electric van, but here are some of the main points! The first being the cost savings. Lots of people will argue that electric vehicles in general are more expensive to buy and own than conventional ones. But, this simply isn’t true.
If we look at the Vauxhall range of commercial vans, the all-electric Vivaro-e isn’t too much more expensive than its diesel counterpart. The diesel Vivaro starts at £26,000, whereas the electric Vivaro-e starts at £33,000. We actually think this is really reasonable, especially considering how much more affordable EVs are to run.
Data from Compare the Market shows that electric vehicles are on average £579 cheaper to run than petrol vehicles per year. Most of these savings come from the fact that maintaining and servicing an EV is significantly less than a conventional vehicle. This is because electric vehicles have less moving parts. Likewise, you can also save money on fuel costs as charging an electric vehicle costs a lot less than the rise costs of fuel.
If you’re planning on buying an electric van outright, you’ll also benefit from the Government’s plug-in vehicle grant. This grant could pay for a maximum of £5,000 of the price of an electric van. This makes the Vivaro-e pretty much the same price as the diesel model. Plus, you are able to claim this grant on up to 1,000 electric vans per year!
People driving electric vehicles are seen as eco-warriors and therefore get a lot of benefits from local authorities. These include being exempt from paying the London Congestion Charge and even free parking!
What is it like driving an electric van?
For the most part, driving an electric van will be very similar to driving a diesel van. One difference you’ll notice is the refinement. Electric vans are also quieter at all speeds which results in a much more relaxed driving experience.
Electric vehicles also benefit from regenerative braking, which means most of the time you’ll only be driving with one pedal! That’s about it in terms of the electric driving experience. Most of the time, especially with an electric van, it’ll be pretty similar to driving a diesel van. Although, if you plan on taking something like the Porsche Taycan 4S for a spin, you’ll be sure to notice a difference!
Charging an electric van
Thankfully, the driving range of electric vehicles has improved massively over the past few years, which does make charging a lot easier. Pretty much all of the electric vans currently available have a range of up to 200 miles making them super useful for town, city and motorway driving.
Plus, with over 30,000 public charge points now available, stopping to recharge on the go is easier than ever. Some of these chargers can full charge an EV in 20 minutes, so there’s no need to worry about wasting time.
Renting an electric van at EVision
We feel now is the perfect time for businesses to consider all-electric driving! As well as a range of brilliant pure electric cars, we also have a few electric van options. At the moment, there aren’t quite as many electric vans to choose from as there are electric cars. But, there’s still some great ones.
The first electric van we have to offer is the Vauxhall Vivaro-e. This is an all-electric alternative to the diesel Vivaro van, so they’re pretty similar. The Vivaro-e electric van has a range of 200 miles.
There’s 3 seats in the front of the van, which work great for individuals who ferry their colleagues around. That being said, there’s still a payload of over 1,000kg, so no compromise at all! You can hire a Vivaro-e electric van from just £26.66 per day, here.
Next up is another van from Vauxhall – the Combo-e. This is our latest addition to our electric van fleet. Designed with both efficiency and style in mind, the Vauxhall Combo-e is really smart on the outside. The interior completely matches as drivers can take advantage of Vauxhall’s easy to use infotainment system. Plus, unlike many other vans, there’s climate control as standard.
With a range of 171 miles and payload of 800kg, this is the perfect electric van for smaller businesses! Hire a Vauxhall Combo-e van from EVision from just £25.01 per day!
Our last (but not least) electric van is the Renault Kangoo. Again, this is designed from the diesel model, but with an electric motor. We’d describe the Kangoo as a no frills EV – it’s a no nonsense work van that gets the job done.
It has a slightly smaller range of 120 miles and a payload of 639kg. But, the best part of this EV is it’s customisability. There are two seats in the front, but the rear three seats are collapsible. This means you can weigh up what works for your business!
The Renault Kangoo is available for both short and long term hires from £19.57 per day here.
* All prices based on a three year hire. All information correct as of 18/05/2022.
