In brief

Shire Leasing has been appointed as a funder for Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone financial support scheme (FSS).

Eligible applicants will be able to use their funding directly with Shire Leasing or via accredited vehicle dealers. They will be able to arrange finance to help upgrade non-compliant vehicles to lower emission vehicles ahead of the charging Clean Air Zone being introduced in Spring 2022.

Greater Manchester has secured more than £120m government funding to help local businesses upgrade vehicles, including support for light goods vehicles (LGV), heavy goods vehicles (HGV), coaches, hackney carriages, private hire vehicles (PHV) and minibuses.

Funding will be distributed through the Financial Support Scheme which will offer eligible owners of a non-compliant vehicle the option of either a lump sum grant, subsidised finance or a combination of the two to support upgrading to a compliant vehicle and ultimately avoid paying daily charges.

Following a competitive tender process, Shire Leasing were appointed by Greater Manchester, building on its experience of delivering a similar scheme for Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The Clean Air Zone will launch in the city on 30 May 2022 for buses, HGVs and out of area hackney and private hire vehicles (PHVs) and in June 2023 for light goods vehicles, registered taxis, PHVs, minibuses and coaches.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called for increased support to improve electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

In a statement, the trade body acknowledged that significant challenges remain, despite the commitment from manufacturers to decarbonise by 2035 – namely the semiconductor crisis that continues to impact production.

Additionally, the manufacturing sector is facing challenges from high energy prices, uncompetitive business rates and additional trade costs compared to global competitors.

The SMMT said long-term strategies and increased support are needed for these deficiencies, and close collaboration between industry and government will be critical if the industry is to remain internationally competitive.

George Gillespie, president and chairman of the SMMT, said: “We have invested billions in designing some of the most amazing electrified vehicles – over 115 zero-emission capable vehicle models are for sale in the UK right now. We have inspired the public to buy these exciting vehicles in numbers never seen before.”

The appetite for buying used cars online remains relatively low, with customers still seeking to speak to a person before a sale, a survey from MotoNovo Finance has found.

The research found that comfort with apps is not as strong as often assumed, while comfort around car buying through an app is much lower. Appetite for buying used cars online is still relatively low – although willingness to do so is improving for used vehicles. Additionally, expectations for the ability to complete the car buying journey online is declining.

While the research phase of a car purchase by consumers is dominated by online marketplaces and other online search tools, the position is reversed entirely in the final decision-making processes.

Dealers are dominant when it comes to the purchase point with online (led prominently by OEM websites) and private purchases, both a considerable way back in sharing a little under 25% of the market.

These were findings within MotoNovo Finance’s long-term research assessing consumers attitude to car buying, assessing how the car buying journey and research has evolved over the last year.

Karl Werner, managing director of MotoNovo Finance, said: “What we can see in action is the classic marketing AIDA mantra; Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action, with dealers only performing well in the final Action stage. It presents a potential risk if online can bridge that final process hurdle.”

Volvo Group has confirmed it will be electrifying its company car fleet, following the adoption of a whole life cost (WLC)-based method of building choice lists from Arval UK.

Volvo’s previous company car policy was long-established with choice lists based on lease rentals, offering petrol and diesel models from Volvo and Renault. However, Danny Nussbaum, HR director explained that pressure had been building to make fundamental changes.

He said: “It became increasingly clear that we should move away from fossil fuel powered company cars towards electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), in support of sustainable travel and fleet electrification.

“There has also been growing interest from our drivers in EVs and PHEVs, both from an environmental point of view and to minimise their benefit in kind taxation. In a wider context, Volvo at a corporate level has its own ambitions in terms of emission reduction targets that exceed those of the Paris Agreement.

“All of this meant that it was clear that our company car policy needed a structural rethink to support electrification, especially from the point of view of choice lists and fuel reimbursement, so we asked Arval UK to oversee what turned out to be a very detailed review.”

Online car retailer Cazoo has confirmed the acquisition of Swipcar, a consumer car subscription platform based in Spain.

Cazoo acquired Swipcar for €30m for a mix of cash & Cazoo shares and the transaction is expected to have a negligible impact on Cazoo’s FY2021 operating results.

Founded in 2018, Swipcar has grown to a team of around 100 staff based in Barcelona and offers a selection of cars available from various leasing company partners for an all-inclusive single monthly subscription payment which includes the car, insurance, maintenance, service and tax. The firm also recently launched in Italy and Portugal.

Alex Chesterman, founder and chief executive of Cazoo, said: “Swipcar has built a market-leading car subscription marketplace in Spain adding hundreds of new customers every month. This deal will enable us to accelerate our launch plans in Spain and Italy, offering consumers the option of buying, selling, financing or subscribing to a car entirely online.”

The AA has signed an exclusive partnership with leasing comparison site LeaseLoco to support its Smart Lease product launch.

Smart Lease is an inclusive personal lease product, with customers paying a single monthly price for a fully-insured car, with servicing, maintenance, Vehicle Tax and tyres included. The service will be launching live on the LeaseLoco from today (15 November).

Also included in the AA Smart Lease package:

• Free delivery of your new car and collection at the end of the lease term
• Dedicated driver support line
• Tyre replacement – punctures and damage due to fair wear and tear. Vandalised or stolen tyres, or driver abuse aren’t included
• £500 fair wear and tear allowance when the customer hands the car back at the end of the lease term
• AA Breakdown also includes electric car charging. The AA will come and charge your EV or tow you to the nearest charge point if you run out of charge
• Courtesy car if your Smart Lease vehicle needs to be repaired (where available)
• Vehicle collection and delivery service for maintenance and servicing
• Customers can choose the mileage and term period of the lease, which is available from two to four years. And both mileage and term period can be amended during the lease without incurring an administration fee.

Paragon Motor Finance has commenced lending on battery electric vehicles (BEVs), with finance offered on hire purchase and lease purchase agreements.

With the requirement for all new vehicles to have significant zero emissions capability by 2030, before becoming fully emission-free from 2035, Paragon has rolled out its BEV lending criteria that aims to support and incentivise consumers to move away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

Timed to coincide with the COP26 climate change conference, the launch comes following the introduction of Paragon’s BEV policy, which was developed considering feedback sought from brokers and dealers. The policy complements the environmental sustainability programme adopted by Paragon Banking Group, of which PMF is a part.

Julian Rance, Paragon Motor Finance director, said: “This year, alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) have represented a substantial proportion of new car registrations. With the government announcing that they are bringing forward the date for ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 10 years to 2030, this only looks set to increase.

“Listening to the market, brokers and dealers have highlighted that to support this anticipated growth, there is a need for finance offered on terms that can compete with that available on ICE vehicles.”

With the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow now underway, the UK is the global epicentre for the growing environmental debate. Motor vehicles and their emissions are sure to be part of the dialogue and having been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the move to increase the UK’s Clean Air Zones (CAZs), which includes Low Emission Zones (LEZs) and Zero Emission Zones (ZEZs)

Fourteen cities across the UK, in addition to London, are now planning to introduce zones that would place restrictions on the highest polluting vehicles while encouraging the use of cleaner vehicles. In some cases, CAZs will see daily charging for non-compliant vehicles, while there will be no charge in others. In Scotland, the four LEZ city centres will see such vehicles banned entirely. Rather than a non-compliance charge, the LEZ will see owners of ineligible motors issued with a Penalty Charge Notice.

The challenge created by these new zones for the motor retail sector is threefold:

• A lack of consistency in the approaches and even names being adopted
• A lack of consumer awareness about the changes
• Helping people move to a car that is both affordable and compliant; a problem exacerbated by stock shortages and rising prices

National press reports that electric vehicles are too expensive, create range anxiety and have charging issues are wide of the mark, at a time when the world’s leaders are meeting to agree new climate control targets.

This is according to Fleet Evolution, which believes that such scare stories are neither helpful nor constructive in the move to growing uptake of EVs and the road to net zero.

In recent months, despite the growing uptake of EVs, some national media reports have suggested that they are more expensive than ICE equivalents, that there will be insufficient numbers of chargers to meet the growing demand and that there will be a shortfall in electricity generated to meet expected consumption levels.

But, says Fleet Evolution, none of these claims are true and the myths need exposing for what they are, especially set against a backdrop of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow with EVs set to play a major role on the road to decarbonising UK transport.