Environmentally Focused News Articles

It has been a bumper 12 months for Electric car sales, with 1 out of 4 cars in the UK now powered by electricity.

Under current Government plans, the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030, and with this only being 8 years away it is clear that new car buyers will be looking increasingly closely at the electric option alongside their combustion counterparts.

In December 2021 alone, 27,705 BEVs (100% pure electric vehicles) were sold in the UK, making up 25.5% of all new registrations that month, and many are on order waiting for the new 22 plate in March.  And to keep it local, in Norwich 15% of all new car sales were electric.

If you are considering making the switch to electric you are not alone. 

There are three main concerns people raise about purchasing an electric car:

• Range Anxiety – will the car give me the mileage I need to get from A – B and back?
• Infrastructure – Is there enough charging points enroute if I am travelling on a longer journey?  I live in a mid-terrace with off street-parking, how will I charge an electric car?
• Cost – Electric cars are expensive to buy

Firstly, range anxiety depends on what sort of driving you do. Many EVs now have official ranges of around 300 to 400 miles but remember, just like quoted petrol or diesel MPG, you are unlikely to achieve it in the real world. Factors like your driving style and cold weather eat into range. But for the vast majority of people who don’t regularly drive long distances, running out of power before you arrive shouldn’t be a significant concern these days.

For those without a garage or driveway where they can charge overnight, there are additional considerations. Infrastructure is improving all the time, but as the number of electric cars on our roads increases, infrastructure needs to keep up.  The number of charging points continue to grow, and we are pleased that in Norwich a new electric vehicle charging forecourt with a café and convenience store is taking shape, and similar facilities are being planned all over the country.

The bays at Postwick will include 12 ultra-rapid, 12 rapid, eight branded and two HGV chargers, which will provide charge times quicker than 30 minutes.

And finally, with regards to cost, with many manufacturers promoting their 2022 electric offerings, there is huge choice and cost bandings ranging from £11,000 to £100,000. For many of those who are buying privately, that means financing your new electric car is an important consideration. 

Credo are here to help, and our panel of finance funders offer PCP finance options on electric cars. We are specialists in our market, and if you are considering the switch, then please get in touch and we can talk you through your options and do all the hard work for you!

*Credo Asset Finance Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:670710), authorised for Credit Broking and lending.

We may receive commission for introducing you to a lender. Different lenders may pay different commissions for such introductions. The amount of commission is fixed and does not affect the cost of credit.

Rising energy prices, gas suppliers going out business and the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow really focus the mind on switching to greener power options.

Credo Eco Finance specialises in sourcing funding for renewable and sustainable energy projects and our experts have helped businesses and individuals switch to greener alternatives.

The green heating debate has literally hotted up with the Government announcing a new scheme to encourage householders to switch to cleaner, greener alternatives such as heat pumps.

From April next year, it will offer a grant of up to £5,000 towards the cost of upgrading to a low-carbon heating system instead of a gas or oil boiler.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy aims to change how we heat homes as part of the UK’s net zero carbon emissions target by 2050. The £450m of funding is expected to help install 90,000 heat pumps over three years.

We are helping more and more businesses invest in fitting solar panels on commercial premises or spare land to generate free, green electricity.

Solar power cuts their energy costs but they can sell spare electricity to the National Grid to boost income and recoup the initial outlay.

Credo is an experienced, specialist provider of asset finance solutions to the renewable energy sector. We can tailor renewable finance solutions to the specific requirements of your business, and offer a flexible approach to funding.

Working with specialist renewable energy lenders, we can find a finance package to suit your needs.

If you want to find out more, or need help with a project, just call 01603 381955 or e-mail [email protected]

Based on current forecasts, pure electric car registrations are expected to overtake diesel by the end of 2022.

Ian Robertson, editor and publisher of Diesel Car & Eco Car magazine, said switching to an electric car was now a very attractive proposition for both businesses and individuals.

“For business-users, electric cars make running a company car a viable practice once more, thanks to tax breaks by the Government.

“Benefit-in-kind taxation of just 1% in 2021-22, 2% in 2022-23 and 3% in 2023-24 makes it incredibly cheap to run a company car, and the choice of vehicles has never been better.

“Every month a handful of brand-new models are released to join the impressive pool of vehicles that are already on sale, with the price of electric mobility starting from as low as £19,200.

“Free vehicle excise duty and no congestion charge in London are just two of the perks of ditching the internal combustion engine now,” he added.

The Government newly-published Net Zero Strategy, Build Back Greener, outlines a long-term plan for a fully-decarbonised economy in 2050.

It includes some key sections on the automotive sector, including the introduction of a Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

The Government has banned the sale of new conventionally-powered petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrids five years later.

By 2040 it wants to end of sale of all new, non-zero emission vehicles which takes in motorbikes, buses and lorries.

The Net Zero Strategy includes:

• Investing another £620m in grants for zero-emission electric vehicles and street charging points on top of the £1.9bn already pledged.
• Targeting car-makers on the percentage of new zero-emission vehicles sold each year from 2024.
• Creating a reliable EV charging network in the UK.
• 25% of the government’s car fleet ultra-low emission by December 2022 and totally emission-free by 2027.
• Pledging an extra £350m to help the automotive supply chain move to electric.

Credo Eco Finance is helping businesses and individuals switch to electric vehicles – contact our experts on 01603 381955 or email [email protected]

Every cloud has a silver lining and the fuel shortage crisis made many motorists realise two things.

One, we feel vulnerable if petrol and diesel pumps run dry and, two, electric cars are fast becoming a viable option for more drivers.

While drivers of conventional combustion engine cars were seeking out filling stations with fuel and joining the long queues, EV owners were spared the hassle and range anxiety.

It suddenly made plugging in and charging up a battery with electricity very appealing and a better option, even more so now that petrol and diesel prices are at record highs.

On Friday, September 24 – the day fuel shortages, and panic-buying, really gripped the nation and threatened to bring the UK to a standstill – online searches for electric cars in the UK soared 1,500% compared to the average daily figure, according to Google search data.

The research was commissioned for carguide.co.uk, and a spokesperson said: “It’s interesting to see how a shortage in fuel for petrol and diesel cars at the petrol stations can cause such a massive hike in online searches for electric cars across the country.

“This trend will likely continue, as more and more people become conscious of their viability, and almost every major manufacturer is committed to electrifying their vehicle portfolio – with the electric car ranges and capabilities increasing almost exponentially as new models come to market.”

Sales of pure electric cars in October were 73% up on 12 months earlier at 16,155 units – a 15.2% share of the new car market – despite total sales falling 24.6%.

For the first 10 months of this year they totalled 141,2196, an 86% rise on the same period of 2020. Plug-in hybrid car registrations are 90% up at 95,422.

So far one in 10 new cars registered this year has been pure electric while nearly 7% are plug-in hybrids.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders also reported that the uptake of plug-in vehicles has accelerated so rapidly that it forecasts more will join Britain’s roads this year than during the whole of 2010 to 2019 combined. Businesses and private customers are expected to register around 287,000 of the latest zero-emission capable battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars by the end of the year – around one in six new cars.

A total of 271,962 new battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were registered between 2010 and 2019.

At Credo we take pride in knowing our market, so if you are looking to ‘switch’ to electric then give us a call and we can talk through your options.

Call 01603 381955 or e-mail [email protected]

In the last 18 months we have seen electric vehicle sales take off and now the launch of Credo Eco Finance, our new specialist service.

This new brand has been designed to take our experience of sourcing funding for environmentally friendly purchases – including cars, vans and energy supply – to the next level.

We have responded to new opportunities and changes in the market, and in response to conversations with our customers about how we can best support them. 

So, if we are advocating that we are specialists in this market, we needed to review our own working practices and our first step was to have our first electric car charger installed for our staff and customers.

And to continue our journey in the next few months we will be investing in an electric pool car for the office.

We also like to shop local and chose Anglia Car Charging in Bungay to complete the work which was top class!