Charging an electric vehicle is a lot cheaper per mile than filling up with petrol or diesel. You can compare the cost of charging an EV to fuelling a petrol/diesel car here: https://www.zap-map.com/tools/journey-cost-calculator/.

Yes, all relevant incentives have been included within the quote.

This figure is for HMRC benefit in kind (car benefit tax) purposes only and does not reflect the actual purchase price of the car.

Yes. The reimbursement will show as a credit on the quote.

Whilst the cost of installing a home charging point is not included with your lease, we have partnered with the UK’s leading charging point installation company Pod Point to offer you an easy and cost-effective solution which includes the available government grant under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). To take advantage of the priority service from our partner, please email evcharging@kafleet.com or call us on 01206 255420 so we can refer you.

Most manufacturers will include a charging cable with an electric vehicle, either a lead for a domestic 3 pin socket or a “Type 2” fast charging cable. Please check with the manufacturer which cable (if any) is included with your vehicle before placing your application.

Most home and public charge points use a “Type 2” connector and we recommend that you check with the vehicle manufacturer that the car you plan to lease has the appropriate cable included if you intend to have a charging point fitted at your property. TIP: You can order a Type 2 charging cable from our home charging partner when you use them to install your home charging point.

Here are some useful links to help you calculate charging costs:

Home charging: https://www.zap-map.com/tools/home-charging-calculator/

Public charging: https://www.zap-map.com/tools/public-charging-calculator/

There are several different types of charging options available in the UK. Rapid DC points use tethered cables which are attached to charging unit. It is important that you know what types of charge point your vehicle can use.

If you are charging a car with a domestic 3 pin power socket or 3kW charger, it will take around 12 hours. With a 7kW fast charger (such as home/public chargers) it takes around three to four hours. If you use the rapid AC/DC chargers found at motorway services, your battery will be 80% charged in approximately 30 minutes (though you need to remember that fast chargers are more expensive than standard charging stations).

Types of charge points include:

You can use a public charging point. Now, there are over 28,600 public charging points and there are likely to be many more soon. You can see them all at www.zap-map.com

The UK has one of the world’s most advanced charge point networks, and it’s growing all the time. Many of the units can charge more than one vehicle at the same time. Most major routes are also well served by ‘rapid’ chargers at service stations and rest stops near motorways and A-roads. In England the average distance between rapid chargers is just 25 miles.

No. The European Commission set the Type 2 connector as the standard for Europe in 2013. Most manufacturers now use this for their vehicles and charging points typically have a Type 2 socket as well. Similar to a USB port, this means vehicles can be plugged in regardless of what socket they have on board. Rapid chargers are slightly different, as these have thicker and often water-cooled cables which are tethered to the unit itself. Again, there is a European standard (the Combined Charging System) used by most new cars, but charge points are usually fitted with several connectors, compatible with the three most common standards.

Only if you’re charging from a domestic plug socket. Travel adaptors to convert a three-pin plug are not suitable for the sustained high currents needed for electric vehicle charging. However, the Type 2 connector is standard across Europe, so public charge points at destinations and rest areas will have the same socket or leads as in the UK.

It is important to understand that your vehicle’s range can vary as there are many factors which can have an influence, such as high driving speeds, stop-and-go driving, short trips, uphill travel, and inclement weather. The following tips will give you some ideas on how to achieve the maximum range from your vehicle.

Minimise rapid acceleration.

Reduce your speed.

Maximise your regenerative braking.

Reduce unnecessary use of climate control, heating and other electrical functions which will draw energy from the battery.

Choose a route that will minimise your power requirement. If possible, take a route that is direct but will require travelling at lower speeds and avoiding hills.

Keep your tyres at the correct pressure for maximum efficiency. The additional battery weight of these vehicles means the tyre life is likely to decrease more quickly if the correct pressure is not maintained.

Avoid carrying unnecessary luggage as additional weight can reduce your range.

Some vehicles have a ‘pre-heat’ function which can be set to warm the cabin and battery prior to your journey; a cold battery will not perform as well as a warm one.

Familiarise yourself with your vehicle’s eco settings which can be used to prolong your range. Details of the settings available on your vehicle can be found in the driver’s handbook or on the manufacturer’s website.

A typical EV with a 60kWh battery will take less than 8 hours to charge from empty to full. Many drivers top up their charge regularly, rather than waiting for the battery to empty.

Regenerative braking is a system that collects energy generated by friction that would usually be lost on conventional combustion engine vehicles. Once captured, the energy will be channelled back to battery which helps to extend your vehicle’s range. Most electric/hybrid vehicles will have various eco settings which offer different levels of regenerative braking.

Eventually, as in a petrol or diesel car, you’ll come to a stop. Electric vehicles provide plenty of warning when the range is running low, and some will limit power or shut off systems such as the air conditioning to extend the range. Range gauges are typically on the cautious side to reduce the risk of this happening.

The RAC is rolling out an on-board charging system on its latest vans which will enable them to top up EVs at the roadside. However, with rapid chargers every 25 miles in the UK, it’s more likely your vehicle will be towed to the nearest service station for a faster top-up.

Only a handful of electric vehicles are legally allowed to tow a trailer. Maximum towing weights are set during a process called ‘Type Approval’, which takes place before a new vehicle is put on sale. However, it’s an optional value and vehicles which are deemed unlikely to tow – including high-performance petrol cars and shorter-range electric vehicles – aren’t always approved to do so. If they are sold without a towing capacity, then it is illegal to use them for pulling a trailer.

Batteries are designed to last the typical lifespan of whatever product they are fitted to. So, while a mobile phone or laptop battery might show signs of degradation after a couple of years, an electric vehicle battery should have retained most of its capacity over a ten-year lifespan. This is reflected in vehicle warranties which are typically longer than you’d get with a petrol or diesel engine.

For example, Tesla offers an eight-year warranty on all its battery packs, guaranteeing it will retain at least 70% of its battery capacity over the timescale.

Electric vehicles can catch fire when they are over-charged or damaged during a crash, but the risk is much lower than for their petrol or diesel counterparts. Tesla claims one vehicle fire for every 205 million miles travelled in its cars, which is ten times less than the overall average. Even during a round of crash testing, which was far in excess of regulatory requirements, German agency DEKRA reported none of the vehicles caught fire or posed an electrocution risk to first responders. If they do catch fire, vehicles are typically soaked in (or submerged in) large quantities of water to cool the battery.

Simply visit the dedicated Low Emission Zone or Clean Air Zone website for the city you are driving in and register.

Absolutely. National Grid ESO says peak demand was at its highest in 2002, and it has fallen 16% since as appliances become more efficient and homes and businesses add solar panels. With smarter charge points enabling sessions to be scheduled to avoid demand spikes, and energy to be returned to the grid, it’s only projecting a 10% rise in peak demand once everyone switches to electric vehicles. That’s still lower than in 2002.

All new electric vehicle charge points, installed at home and in the workplace from May 2022, will be pre-programmed to switch off during peak hours to ease pressure on the National Grid. A ‘randomised delay’ of up to 30 minutes when there is high demand from motorists, will also be introduced as more company car drivers switch to EVs.

New chargers will not operate from 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm, but owners and fleets will be able to override the pre-set times to take account of night workers and people who have different schedules. Public chargers and rapid chargers, on motorways and A-roads, will be exempt.

Electric vehicles do require more energy to build than their combustion engine counterparts. But that’s only half of the story. According to a recent Volkswagen Group study, manufacturing the ID.3 electric hatchback (including processing raw materials) produces almost twice as much CO2 as the equivalent petrol or diesel Golf. However, it adds that, even without factoring in the carbon-neutral factory where the ID.3 is built, life cycle CO2 emissions comfortably undercut both versions of the Golf.

This isn’t an unusual scenario. New research suggests whole-life CO2 emissions for an electric car are lower than a petrol equivalent in almost every country across the world. Meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers are shifting factories to renewable energy, creating local supply chains to avoid long-distance shipping and CO2 emissions for electricity production are falling too. The average carbon intensity of the UK grid was two thirds lower in 2020 than in 2013, and the ambition is net zero emissions by 2025. All these steps help to extend the environmental benefits compared to a petrol or diesel car.