Electric Car Leasing in Liverpool - are we ready to go electric?

Electric Car Leasing in Liverpool - are we ready to go electric?

The Liverpool City region has undergone significant growth over the last 10 years, bring with it new businesses, residents and opportunities. Undoubtedly a Northern powerhouse, known for more than its famous Liverpool and Everton football teams, and a plethora of Universities, the Mersey region is enjoying considerable development and innovation.

But is this translating to the electric vehicle industry? Are local businesses and consumers ready to opt for a zero-emission automotive solution?

Not unlike any part of the UK, there are pros and cons of transferring to a BEV (it’s not all perfect!). For many Liverpool businesses with company car fleets and salary sacrifice programmes, there have been great tax benefits in EV adoption.

For the business, the cash-flow efficient contract hire product enables a company to enjoy fixed cost motoring for its fleet ,with corporation tax and VAT savings (compared to combustion vehicles) plus some Whole of Life cost savings with the Electricity v Fuel situation, along with lower servicing, maintenance and tyre costs.

Add to that a positive PR exercise in reducing your company’s carbon footprint and you can quickly see why fleet electrification has been so well received. For the end user, the company car / sal sac driver, there are additional benefits in that BiK is considerably lower for a zero-emission car (0 g/km) with just 2% for 2023-2025. In terms of actual cost-savings, this means hundreds of pounds per month in tax savings compared to a traditional combustion car.

Should the business offer charging on premises, it’s useful to note that no private fuel is charged on EV charging (yet) by HMRC, so an all-together tax efficient position. The corresponding benefits have been applied to salary sacrifice schemes too, where procuring electric cars has proved to be much cheaper compared to personal contract hire and personal contract purchase arrangements.

But that is not to say that consumers will not be adopting EVs. While business leasing / salary sacrifice is far more tax efficient and incentivised, there are a healthy volume of Liverpool residents ditching their petrol and diesel options. While there is some degree of price parity between EV and combustion, with economies of scale and a smattering of new affordable EVs like the BYD Atto 3, MG4, the Mini EV and the Citroen e-C4, more individuals are receptive to all-electric options; in particular for low-mileage drivers in city or urban areas.

Where electric cars are fantastic are in stop/start journeys in congested zones, as opposed to longer motorway routes. And for individuals with a competitive electric tariff for charging their car (companies like OVO can assist here - you are able to charge overnight from as little as 10 pence per kWh. This translates to a “full tank” for £7 - £10 or just 2 - 3 pence per mile in your EV.

This is hugely cheaper, and cleaner, than a petrol or diesel equivalent, which is all set out to you on our amazing “at a glance” overview for EVERY car on the e-car lease website. It’s not just the price you pay on the finance which is key; you also need to take into account maintenance, servicing, fuel and insurance etc But are Liverpool car customers being forced to go electric?

The emergence of Clean Air Zones (CAZ) is something which has been well publicised by the UK’s media, with some misnomers and sketchy details. Around 2015 the notion of the CAZ was introduced as part of improving air quality, with responsibility being allocated to local authorities to create a formulated plan.

Each local authority has to categorise their plans with “Category A” including buses, coaches, taxis and private hire through to “Category D” which includes all LCVs and cars. To be clear this is NOT about converting or forcing businesses and consumers to go electric. This is about minimising the higher polluting vehicles - a petrol vehicle must be Euro 4, a diesel must be Euro 6 and lorries/buses will have to be Euro VI.

As per the Gov Website  the CAZ are in places like Bath. Birmingham, Sheffield and Tyneside with Greater Manchester currently under review. For Liverpool, the local authority actually rejected the CAZ and instead went down the route of a Clean Air Plan - “lets clear the air” . Liverpool council have noted the difficulties Manchester encountered with their charging / penalty focused policies for uncompliant vehicles; which many operators could not address because of vehicle delays, semi-conductor shortages and rising costs of new (and nearly new) vehicles.

Instead Liverpool have suggested they will be adopting an approach of traffic calming measures, traffic idling restrictions and movements away from heavily congested zones. But the local authority must do something, as unacceptable levels of pollution can lead to substantial fines.

And in terms of EV readiness, Liverpool have already started to move towards seamless infrastructure with the council confirming 300 new on-street EV chargers during 2023 . Not only that, new dedicated charging hubs will be introduced, like the 24-point facility off Edge Lane or a 36-point option in the Wirral. As you will see below via our electric car charge point location partners Zap Map there are a host of charging facilities available to individuals and businesses.

Liverpool Car Charge Points

In terms of the car shown, the BMW  I4 GRAN COUPE 400kW M50 83.9kWh 5dr Auto Pure Electric Car, this is based on the following configuration:

•  Metallic - M Portimao Blue
•  Vernasca leather - Black with blue stitching
•  19" M Double spoke light alloy wheels in bicolour with mixed tyres - style 861M  

But is the electric BMW i4 a good EV?

This option will have a usable 80.7 kWh lithium-ion battery which will offer 0 – 62 times of 3.9 seconds, 140 mph top speeds and 400 kW (or 536 hp). And the drivetrain will be AWD. Expect a combined winter range of 225 miles with warmer weather allowing for 310 miles on a full charge. On charging, the 11 kW AC max will allow 8 hour 45 minutes 0 – 100% charging times with the 207 kW DC maximum allowing 27 minute 10 – 80% times.

This car has a vehicle fuel equivalent of 135 mpg and a cargo volume of 470L. You can tow with the electric BMW Gran Coupe - 750 kg (unbraked) and 1600 kg (braked).