Vanarama has asked the question "Is 2021 the year of the electric van?" and taken a close look at some of the key factors for the increasing uptake in electric van ownership.

In 2020, Vanarama reports, there were just 5,266 electric vans registered in the UK – many of these being small vans, such as the Renault Kangoo ZE and the Nissan eNV200. But as the year progressed and more and more models entered the market, the fleet sector, in particular, boosted the uptake and Vanarama predicts that registrations will have risen to 18,000 by the end of this year.

Many large companies are desperate to push their green credentials, so using electric vans is something of a no-brainer for their overarching marketing strategies. Big firms such as Tesco, Amazon and Royal Mail, are spearheading the push towards electric fleets, so all in all, it looks like the numbers of clean energy vehicles on our roads will continue to rise.

What about the small business van driver?

The high-cost outlay for changing to an electric van is something that one-man-band and small business users are still citing as a significant barrier to electric van uptake. This, combined with certain unknowns such as repair and servicing costs, the charging infrastructure across the UK and whether cheap van insurance for electric commercial vehicles will become widely available, are some of the other main reasons that smaller businesses may take time to switch to electric vans.

However, there's no doubting that the desire to be greener is a strong pull towards electric driving. Back in June, we reported on some recent van driver survey statistics surrounding electric van driving which showed that 40% of those polled would consider buying an electric van when their current van needs replacing. And three in five drivers said that the availability of electric vehicle grants would make them seriously consider a switch.

Cheap van insurance for electric vans

If you are considering buying an electric van, it will pay to shop around for the best deals on cheap van insurance. One thing that can be said is that as electric van ownership increases and the cost of repairs and initial outlay goes down by comparison to traditionally-fuelled vans, then the reductions will soon be reflected in the van insurance market.

Call iVan today to see if we can provide you a great deal on your electric van insurance – we provide competitively priced policies for any driver van insurance and under-25 van insurance, so why not give us a try, especially if your commercial vehicle of choice in 2021 is a brand new electric van.