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The Business Motoring Week, September 14, 2018

If you want to go EV, now’s the time to consider it – because there’s plenty of financial support. Plus living with an electric Golf, last few places for our conference, new Ford Transit and fake leasing scammers in the Business Motoring Week, September 14, 2018
VW e Golf moving

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14 September 2018

Going green gets serious money thrown at it – so should you move EV?

The Business Motoring Week September 14, 2018IF you’re thinking of going green and making that step into an electric vehicle, then 2019 is the year to be doing it.

This week has seen an important conference – the Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Birmingham – which saw the announcement from the UK’s largest leasing company backing electric vehicles to the tune of £1m in 2019.

Lex Autolease is offering £1000 contribution to the first 1000 customers who order a fully electric vehicle through them – see £1m war chest from Lex Autolease to drive EV take up. That’s a significant amount of support.

The Government followed this up with an announcement from PM Theresa May of a £106 million funding boost for research and development in green vehicles, new batteries and low carbon technology.

“I have set this country an ambitious mission,” said the PM. “To put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles, and for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040.”

All this comes at a time when the Government, so whispers have it, is considering lifting the fuel duty escalator freeze in Autumn Budget. You can see the nudge politics going on here – go electric, avoid the rising cost in fuel…

VW e-Golf charging
VW e-Golf charging up on my drive

Going electric is something that I have done though. I’ve been running around in a Volkswagen e-Golf. It’s brilliant. The silence for one thing is amazing. It took me weeks before I turned on the radio. I just liked the calming experience so much.

And travelling to and from the tennis club in zero emission mode is just what EVs were made for. Transport without the pollution. The other thing on shorter journeys, using the regenerative setting, you can set out and come back with the same amount of charge remaining. Now that’s cool!

And if you can get your EV with a £1000 uplift from Lex Autolease, then that’s even cooler.

what does the future look like conferenceWhat does the future look like? conference – last few seats left

Leasing Broker Conference logosOur leasing broker conference – What does the future look like? – that we run for the Leasing Broker Federation is nearly a sell-out. There are fewer than 10 seats remaining for the 110 seater venue at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.

The keynote speech for the above is about transitioning customers to electric cars and vans.

We have a great line up of speakers for the whole conference. But the keynote features James McKemey, Head of Insights at Pod Point, talking about the EV market. While a panel discussion follows, featuring:

  • Mike Potter, Managing Director of FleetDrive, winner of the Best Green Leasing Broker for four successive years;
  • Paul Hollick, Managing Director of TMC, and a specialist on business mileage charging for EVs;
  • Sylvie Childs, Senior Product Manager at Hyundai, and a specialist in hydrogen;
  • Ian Featherstone, Fleet Advice Manager, Energy Saving Trust; and
  • Adam Harley National Leasing Manager at BMW Group.

If you are interested in attending, there’s more info here – and a form you can fill in to join us on October 02, 2018.

First view of new 2-tonne Ford Transit

At this year’s Hannover Show in Frankfurt, Ford will be unveiling its new large van, the Ford Transit.

Ford is promising a van that can take more payload, is more fuel efficient so it costs less to run, and features world-first electrification assistance. Find out more here.

Scammers using social media to lure customers into bogus leasing deals
Photo: Shutterstock

Watch out for fraudulent car leasing scammers

Scum-bag scammers are targeting users of social media to fleece the unsuspecting of money. Make sure you don’t fall victim to this – or, indeed, one of your friends. How to recognise the scams here.

Don’t forget…

  • Check out all the latest dealer news in Motor Trade News
  • We have a new Car and Van Leasing Directory – find your perfect business motoring lease partner here

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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