UK removes tachograph and HGV test requirements for heavier electric vans

Electric vans in the UK weighing between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes will no longer be treated like heavy goods vehicles for testing and tachograph rules from the start of June.

The decision from the UK government aims to align these vehicles with equivalent petrol and diesel vans of 3.5 tonnes or less, rather than pulling them into heavier vehicle rules simply because of battery weight.

The new regulations remove 3.5–4.25-tonne eLCVs from the heavy vehicle testing regime and move them into the Class 7 MOT system.

That means the first roadworthiness test will be due three years after first registration, rather than after one year, and then annually thereafter.

According to the UK’s Department for Transport, the change could save up to 60 per cent on testing costs compared with the outgoing heavy vehicle regime.

The revised system also removes the obligation to use tachographs and end restrictions on operating distance from base for vans in this category.