£650m EV boost welcomed – but where’s the support for fleets?

Tom Rowlands, Corpay’s MD, Global EV Solutions, including UK brand, Allstar provides insight into how the recently announced policy by the government to support EV uptake in the UK is welcomed, but should there not be also targeted support for fleets?

“The government’s recently announced investment of £650 million in consumer subsidies for electric vehicles is a much needed and long overdue boost to the industry. We have seen adoption of EVs slow in recent years after previous grants and subsidies ended, which meant that individuals were less able to access the cost-savings of running an EV fleet. We have seen in other countries a simple truth: governments that support an EV transition see results, so to see that the UK government is bolstering its support can only create a positive outlook.

The grant will have a positive trickle-down effect for UK businesses, as costs will become more competitive for fleets. That being said, the newly announced grants are not directly aimed at UK fleets, with the discounts available for models on a first-come, first-served basis. Fleets and businesses reported 119,700 new registrations in June, equating to a 62.5% market share, which is a huge proportion of UK car sales that should be equally supported in adopting EVs.

A critical part of the grant is the allocation of a £63 million commitment to expanding EV charging infrastructure, particularly its emphasis on supporting those without off-street parking and increasing depot charging capacity.

This grant will be a universal benefit for both consumers and businesses operating electric vehicles, where access to convenient, reliable charging is widely regarded as being one of the biggest barriers to electrification. However, as of June 2025 there were 2,450,462 plug-in cars, over 1,585,000 battery-electric cars and nearly 865,000 PHEVs registered in the UK – and around 82,000 charging points. So that £63 million has to stretch a long way in order to fully accommodate today’s charging needs.

While details are yet to be revealed in full, we would hope the funds will cover more fast and ultra-fast chargers and more charging points in areas that are underserved. For full adoption we need chargers evenly distributed across the nation, not just clustered around city centres and certain depots. We also need more support for vans, which have much more in common with the commercial fleets that we support, and have unique challenges not shared by EV cars.

“At Allstar, we’ve been focused on solving these exact challenges, whether through our partnership with Co Charger to support near-home charging for fleet drivers without home chargers, or through our expanding roaming network, which now includes more than 67,000 chargers nationwide.

“This announcement is a welcome signal that the government is acting to remove the infrastructure and cost barriers holding EV adoption back, and we are excited to see the results.”

Tom Rowlands, Corpay’s MD, Global EV Solutions, including UK brand, Allstar