According to the BVRLA there is a growing gap between the number of business and private contract hire customers ordering vehicles, new figures from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) suggest. Business contract hire (BCH) has grown 4.4% year on year, bolstered by high electric vehicle (EV) uptake from salary sacrifice, which is up 55%. In quarter two 2023, BVRLA figures show that seven in 10 fleet vehicles funded via BCH were for plug-in vehicles (48% EV, 22% plug-in hybrid). Conversely, the personal sector has seen an 8.4% decline as households have seen budgets squeezed as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. While impacting vehicles of all fuel types, the decline is causing EV uptake among private drivers to stall. Only 17% of private contract hire (PCH) delivers in Q2 2023 were for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with a further 5% for plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). There are now more than 20,000 used vehicles being operated within the BVRLA leasing fleet. The full report includes analysis from Fleet Assist, Auto Trader and Cap HPI, and can be read on the BVRLA website.
The Editor’s View
