Licence Bureau is warning businesses and fleets of an increasingly evident ‘major knowledge gap’ as electric vehicle registrations continue to surge this year.

SMMT figures indicate a 217 per cent year-to-date increase in EV registrations over 2019. With grants of up to £3,000 available on low emission vehicles and zero company car tax payable on fully battery operated EVs from next month, such uptake is likely to continue its upward trajectory.

However, Licence Bureau feels adoption could be hindered by the current information void and subsequent knowledge gap, a gap which it claims is both two-fold and interlinked.

Firstly, a lack of clear, transparent, readily available information is resulting in business drivers holding back on committing to EVs due to uncertainty around their suitability. In addition to this, Licence Bureau claims businesses should be doing more to support employees with the decision-making process by focusing on their driving profile and understanding the benefits – or otherwise – that adopting EV mobility may have.

Martin Starkey, training development manager, Licence Bureau, said: “Electric vehicles really are a hot topic right now for anyone involved in or requiring mobility. The uptake of EVs is actively being encouraged to the UK business sector with financial incentives, and is seen as a key breakthrough market, but the reality is overcoming the knowledge gap, amongst both businesses and individual business drivers, could prove the greatest challenge.”

EV sales in the UK are expected to reach 131,000 in 2020, according to forecasts from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and EVs are forecast to account for a fifth of sales in the UK by 2026.