The Ultimate Guide To Leasing An Electric Van

Electric vans fall into two categories:

• Fully-electric vans that have no combustion engine & are powered ONLY by their batteries are called BEVs or Battery Electric Vehicles.

• Hybrids are a mix of electric power & internal combustion engine.

Of these two types, it’s only the BEVs that are true Zero Emission Vehicles & produce no exhaust emissions.

Charging Times

Simply put, it takes longer to recharge an electric van than filling the tank of a regular van. DC rapid charging will charge your battery back up to 80% in under 60 minutes on most vans with the fast-charging capability. Home charging point will get you back to 100% overnight, while a 3-pin plug charger might take a full day.

Range Anxiety

It’s a real thing, but based on the simple fact that electric vans will not travel as far on a 100% charge as a fuel van will on a full tank. However, a lot of electric vans are now capable of travelling nearly 200 miles on a single charge. Few van drivers - aside from last-mile delivery drivers - are driving 200 miles in a single day, so overnight charging should eliminate range anxiety.

Higher Purchase Cost, But Longer-Term Savings

Electric vehicle tech is still very new & made with expensive components. While the prices to drive them may be higher, you do save money over the vehicle's life in terms of lower cost per mile & lower maintenance costs.

To qualify for the grant on low-emission large vans, the vehicles must have a gross vehicle weight of between 2500kg & 3500kg gross vehicle weight, emit CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km & be capable of travelling at least 96km or 60 miles without any emissions at all.

The grant will pay for 35% of the purchase price for these vehicles, up to a maximum of £5,000. You can claim a total of 1000 plug-in van and truck grants for your business or organisation each year. This limit resets every year on 1 April.

A PHEV is as close as you can get to a fully electric van in the hybrid category. As the name implies, you can plug it in to charge its electric batteries & use full electric driving for a short range (normally in the region of 30 miles or so).

When you need more performance or longer range, a PHEV will combine the electric motor & combustion engine to give you equivalent performance to a traditional van but still with better fuel economy.

If your journeys or commute are regularly short (or you can recharge at home or work) then PHEV hybrids are a great solution for people who want the benefits of full electric driving but the back-up of a combustion engine.

The warranties on new EV batteries are typically 100,000 miles or 8 years. Simple care techniques, such as avoiding draining the batteries to zero regularly, can add to their efficiency & lifespan. In fact, most manufacturers recommend keeping batteries in a 20-80% sweet spot. 

Research by technology firm Geotab, showed that the so-called ‘State of Health’ of batteries in a wide range of popular EVs was declining so slowly that the batteries will outlast the usable life of the vehicle - a huge plus point for electric vans. 

Furthermore, that ‘state of health’ declined by approximately 2.3% on average, meaning that over five years of ownership, a 200-mile range van would still have a range of over 180 miles.

If you’re using your van for regular journeys & charging at home most nights then that is well within the range of pretty much every EV. 

Also, any concerns you might have over battery life are eliminated when you lease an electric van. A standard 2-5-year lease falls well within the warranties of every electric van we offer at Vanarama.