The government has scrapped the requirement for drivers to undergo extra training before they are allowed to get drive an electric van weighing 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes.
All drivers who passed their test after 1 January 1997 are not allowed to drive a combustion-engine vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tonnes, and there was previously an exemption that allowed this limit to be extended to 4.25 tonnes in the case of electric vehicles.
This required drivers to go through five hours of training, but this has now been removed, meaning that anyone with a Category B drivers licence will be able to drive an electric vehicle with a gross vehicle weight between 3.5 tonnes and 4.25 tonnes.
The change was first considered by the previous Conservative Government in October 2022 but it wasn’t able to bring it into law before the General Election in 2024. The incoming Labour Government had not commented on it, but has now brought the law into effect.
The law will not be applied immediately but will come in once it has been subject to official parliamentary approval.
The weight limit increase was first introduced in 2018 to allow for the heavier nature of electric vans. The batteries weigh more than a full fuel tank and engine, which then takes up more of the gross vehicle weight. This then leaves less capacity for payload.
As an extreme example, if the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter with the 113kWh battery was only allowed to have a 3.5-tonne gross vehicle weight, it would only have a payload of around 200kg, due to its high kerb weight. Most of this could then be taken up by the driver and passengers, meaning the van would only be good for carrying a load of inflated balloons or similar.
The changes to the licence requirements were brought in at the same time as the confirmation of the extension of the plug-in van grant, which is now due to run until April 2026.
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