SVA calls on Government to incentivise range-extended EVs

Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA) has called on the Government to incentivise range-extended electric vehicles (EVs), as it said they address the shortcomings of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

SVA said that drivers are switching to PHEVs to access lower benefit-in-kind (BiK) rates, but are using them as petrol cars without charging the battery.

It said that this burns more fuel than intended and undermines environmental targets.

Three-year-old PHEVs often arrive at SVA’s auctions with charging cables in their original packaging.

Instead, Alex Wright, managing director at SVA, said that the Government should create a tax class for range-extended EVs, which have much larger batteries and operate mostly on electric power, but have a small auxiliary engine and low-capacity fuel tank, that only charges the battery enough to reach a charger.

One of the few range-extended EVs to reach the UK market was the BMW i3 REx, which used a motorcycle engine to provide around 80 miles of additional range.

Wright said: “The objective of a PHEV is to maximise electric driving and minimise fossil fuel use. But in reality, a lot of drivers rarely charge them and use them as a petrol vehicle just to benefit from lower BiK rates.

“That defeats the purpose. Right now, manufacturers are largely forced to choose between building a full EV or a PHEV. But there’s a very practical middle ground that should be recognised in the UK tax system, an EV with a small ‘get-you-home’ engine.