When is the deadline to get a free company car? What is the best electric car to lease in 2019? Can I add accessories to my lease car?
The recent announcements from the Government have really pushed electric cars into the forefront of many company car drivers minds.
Over the last few years the pressure on manufacturers to produce more efficient petrol and diesel vehicles has been truly overwhelming and the ever-increasing Benefit in Kind bands for the UK driver has meant that for some driving a company car is simply untenable.
In the UK we are an emissions based tax regime which means that the more polluting the vehicle is, the higher the BiK % will be.
The way in which HMRC (and the Government) develop this is to increase the BiK % year on year for the different CO2 bands. For example, in 2017/18 a 100g/km vehicle would be 19% but in 2020/21 this would be 25%!
It is no surprise that those drivers who wanted to operate a more expensive and higher performance vehicle would instead take a company car allowance rather than use the company scheme.
To add further pressure, any diesel vehicle registered on or after 1 January 1998 which is not RDE2 compliant will pay an additional 4% supplement on the BiK banding.
Bearing in mind we have traditionally operated policies in the UK that have effectively pushed company car drivers into diesel; we have now become a system which is now punishing the drivers for these decisions.
That is not to say the move to alternative forms of fuel are not crucial; this is massively important to the UK and the world as whole. However, until recently, the Government had done little to assist.
So what has changed with electric cars? For any car registered before or after 6 April 2020, the new BiK % is 0% from 2020 rising to 1% in 2021 and then 2% in 2023. For anyone changing their car now or in the next 12/18 months will face some crucial considerations which will help shape their company car tax exposure and possibly the thoughts of other fellow employees/fleet managers. With the Government only committing to 2022/23, this only provides a realistic time period of 3 years for company car drivers. This means you need to be making a decision very quickly and also thinking very carefully about which contract you elect to go ahead with.
As electric cars are a relatively new proposition for many in the UK we are seeing many drivers look to a 24 months contract, rather than the 36/48 month we would normally supply.
Part of this is that they want to ensure they are not committed to a long contract in case their car turns out not to be suitable or if new technology arrives. Additionally, as we don’t know what will happen post 2022/23, there is still some caution. We do hope that the Government truly backs leasing electric cars and keeps the BiK at a very low %.
This would massively influence the rate of change.
So which electric car should I be leasing? Back in 2017/18 there really wasn’t much of a list we could produce; many of the fleets were operating the Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe and the Tesla Model S and X as these were some of the only available and realistic options.
So can I amend an electric car on lease? A good question and one which we received in this instance. The car shown did not have privacy glass as standard and as it was a “built” option, there was no way to add this as a manufacturer option. We therefore added the privacy glass as a “dealer fit” option, essentially adding the privacy glass before the vehicle was collected by the customer. So long as a lease car modification is added to the contract so that the finance company is aware of the option, this is perfectly permissible. However, some option can affect the residual value of the car so do consider what you need adding to the car.
In terms of the car shown here, the Jaguar I Pace Estate 294 kW EV400 SE 90kWh 5door Auto (Pure Electric Vehicle), this is based on the following configuration:
· Yulong White Metallic Paint
· Grained leather – Ebony with ebony/ebony interior + sport seats
· Gloss black trim finisher
· 10 way electric heated front seats with memory
· Light oyster morzine headlining
· 20″ 6 spoke gloss sparkle silver alloy wheels – style 6007
As standard the car includes heated steering wheel, ambient interior lighting, coil suspension system, Meridian sound system, leather sport steering wheel, power tailgate, metal tread plates with Jaguar script, premium LED headlights, 10-way electric front seats with memory, rear view camera, climate control, 20” alloys, driver pack, grained leather upholstery, heated front windscreen, heated washer jets, infra-red glass windscreen, solar attenuating rear windscreen, DSC, enhanced brake regen, hill start assist, apply car play/android auto, Bluetooth, 360 degree parking aid, lane keep assist, park assist (parallel, perpendicular and parking exit), traffic sign recognition, push button starter, 10” touch screen, auto dimming interior rear view mirror, power fold and heated door mirrors with memory and approach lamps, 7kW single phase onboard charger, home and public charging cables, DAB radio, tailgate spoiler, automatic headlight levelling, headlight power wash, LED tail lights, air quality sensor, LED interior lighting, 60/40 slit folding rear seats, keyless entry, open differential and intrusion sensor/alarm.
In terms of additional factory options consider – privacy glass, carpet mats (mats are not FREE!!!) and secure tacker pro for a complete car. Alternatively, upgrade to the HSE model.
On the technical-side company car and business uses can note the P11d at £70,640.00 and CO2 at 0g/km. The 1-speed auto engine/84.7 kWh battery will offer 250-300 miles on a full charge, 0-62 times of 4.8 seconds, rapid charging times of circa 170 miles per hour, home charging of 22 miles per hour and service intervals of 24 months or 21,000 miles whichever lands sooner.
So will the Jaguar I-Pace be your next select electric car leasing option? Or would you decide on one of the alternatives?
