The past six months have marked a pivotal period in the UK’s fleet electrification journey. Newly announced Government funding measures, although by their nature time and quantum restricted, will test the appetite of private enterprise to move forward with fleet electrification. 

Van

During 2025 electric vans gained further momentum, supported by regulatory easing and improving technology, plus some remaining financial incentive for vehicles and infrastructure.  

Despite the overall van market shrinking by 10.3% in 2025, electric vans bucked the trend, achieving 36.2% growth and setting a new annual record, with 30,169i electric vans sold in 2025. As at end-September 2025 there were 106,208ii electric light goods vehicles registered in the UK. Although at 9.5% their market share remains below the mandated target of 16%, with legislated flexibilities most OEMs are able to demonstrate compliance.  

Matching policy ambition and demand will become more challenging by 2027, although policy and practical measures around the 4.25T weight derogation for vans to allow for additional battery weight are finally in place, as are numerous new product offers from established and new entrants, built specifically for operator need and increasingly addressing payload and range concerns. Many models now support one tonne payloads and ranges exceeding 200 miles, making them more practical for fleet operations.  

With Total Cost of Ownership business cases clear for many use cases, continued strong uptake is anticipated. Forecasts indicate electric van registrations will increase by 50% in 2026iii, rising to around 45,000 units.  

HGV

At around 1.5% market share, eHGV uptake is in its infancy but has shown demonstrable progress in recent months. 616iv electric trucks were sold in 2025, set against 346 in 2024. As at end-September 2025 there were 1,313v electric heavy goods vehicles registered in the UK. The £200m government funded Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstration (ZEHID) projects account for much of this growth - and this scheme has also helped to encourage all of the major OEMs, and new entrants, to make impressive strides in product development - but there are also great examples of early adopters in the private and public sectors who are embracing the reality of operating and financial upside.  

Government incentive schemes are fuelling demand through a package of measures intended to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission trucks. Two recent developments forming part of the £318 million “Green Freight Package” offer pleasing encouragement, on top of the Depot Charging Scheme and NHS fleet electrification package announced in mid-2025: 

  • Directly addressing HGV affordability, an additional £18 million to extend the Plug-in Truck Grant, which offers discounts of up to £120,000 on new electric trucks, helping to reduce upfront costs for hauliers. With a deadline of 31/03/2026 it will be interesting to see whether undoubted over-subscription encourages further incentives. 

  • the DfT and OZEV consultation on the HGV CO₂ regulatory framework that will help to define how non zero-emission HGVs are phased out, much as the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate has for cars and vans, as the UK moves toward bans on new non zero-emission van and HGV sales by 2035 (for vehicles up to 26 tonnes) and 2040 for all other HGV categories.

Charging

By the end of 2025 the UK had circa 88,000 public chargers, with circa 10% located on key enroute corridors essential for long-haul freight, including the emergence of CV charging hubs. That is only part of the story, however, with funding for freight hub and depot-based chargers encouraging uptake and increasing interest in network infrastructure sharing arrangements to increase geographic coverage for individual fleets. This should result in more controllable operating costs for visitors and improved ROI for installed infrastructure. 

Conclusion

The expanded Plugin Truck Grant dramatically lowers the capital barrier for electric truck adoption, potentially laying the foundation for broader fleet electrification.  

Increasing deployment of charging infrastructure, whether freight hub, depot, semi-private shared infrastructure or public site, is essential for operational confidence and logistics planning and signals the UK’s ambitious shift toward zero-emission transport across freight, fleet, and public service sectors. 

The confluence of government grants, infrastructure expansion, and pioneering industry initiatives suggests that the UK’s move towards netzero transport is shifting from pilot schemes to tangible deployment.