The numbers, 9 Nov: Diesel slips to 198.6p; electric vans pay back above 8,610 miles a year

The gap between diesel and electric fuel costs is wide and steady, but it is calculated at HMRC's advisory electric rates, not at what your vans pay. A fleet charging mainly at the depot on a business tariff may do better. One leaning on public rapid chargers will do worse. We think the sensible move is to rebuild this comparison with your own tariff and a realistic share of public charging before it goes into a business case.

Electric van break-even

8,610 miles (a year). Above this, fuel savings cover an electric van's list-price premium after the van grant, spread over four years. At 18,000 miles a year it saves £2,822. See the data.

For many working vans this is a modest annual mileage, so the question is less whether electric pays than which vans to switch first. Pull a year of mileage from telematics or fuel records and rank vehicles by it. The high-mileage end is where the saving shown at 18,000 miles lives. Confirm with your supplier or leasing company that the van grant is reflected in the quote, and remember the sum assumes advisory charging costs.

Public rapid charging

79p/kWh (3.0× home). Zapmap average for September, against 26.3p under the household price cap from 1 Oct. Slower public chargers average 54p. See the data.

Public rapid charging is where an electric van's running-cost advantage is most easily lost. At this price, a van fed mainly from rapid chargers can give back much of the saving. The slower public rate helps, but the economics work best at home or the depot. We would set a charging policy that makes depot or home charging the default, reimburse home charging properly, and ask charge point operators about subscription or fleet tariffs.

Electric share of new registrations, September

Cars 28.3% · Vans 9.6%. SMMT figures. This year's ZEV mandate targets: cars 33%, vans 24%. See the data.

Cars are within sight of their target, but vans are well short of theirs. Manufacturers' compliance positions are their own affair. Still, a gap this wide on vans is a reason to press suppliers on electric van pricing, discounts and lead times rather than accept list terms. For cars, we would check that salary sacrifice and company car choice lists give drivers enough electric options to keep your own share moving.

Advisory fuel rates, from 1 Sept

Diesel 15p to 22p. HMRC pence per mile for company car business travel, by engine size: diesel 15p, 16p, 22p. Electric 7p at home, 15p public. Next review 1 Dec. See the data.

Check that mileage claims and expense systems apply these rates by engine size. The electric public rate may not cover a company car driver who relies on rapid chargers at current prices. Where that applies, we think reimbursing actual public charging costs against receipts is fairer. With the next review on 1 Dec, the sensible move is to diary a check that day and update systems promptly rather than assume the rates hold.

Coming up

• 9 Nov 2026: SMMT used car sales, third quarter 2026
• 20 Nov 2026: Fleet News Awards 2027 entries close
• 25 Nov 2026: DfT electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics

How these figures are compiled

THRIVE publishes these figures every Monday from its own data tables: pump prices from DESNZ's weekly road fuel prices; the Fleet Cost Index and the break-even are THRIVE's own calculations from those pump prices and HMRC's advisory electric rates for company cars (70% home, 30% public charging), used as a proxy because there is no official electric-van rate, with the break-even using manufacturer list prices less the van grant; public charging prices from Zapmap's charging price index and the household rate from Ofgem's price cap; registration shares from SMMT's monthly figures; advisory fuel rates from HMRC. Each figure is shown only while it is current; one whose source has not published a new release in time is left out rather than shown out of date. The full series are in THRIVE data.