The government has confirmed that electric vans weighing between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes will move into the normal Class 7 MOT regime, bringing an end to the HGV-style testing rules they currently fall under. The decision is part of the official response to last year’s Department for Transport (DfT) consultation on how heavier zero-emission vans should be regulated.
The problem has always been weight. UK law draws a hard line at three and a half tonnes. Anything above that is treated as a goods vehicle in HGV territory, which brings earlier annual tests, tachographs and stricter drivers’ hours rules.
Electric vans often slip over the limit purely because the battery adds mass, even though they are the same size, do the same work and operate in the same way as their diesel equivalents. The DfT said this mismatch has created avoidable barriers for early adopters.
Class 7 MOTs instead of HGV tests
Under the new plans, set out in the consultation response, heavier electric vans will be tested in the Class 7 MOT system used by diesel vans up to 3.5 tonnes. Their first MOT will shift to year three rather than year one, and operators will be able to use ordinary MOT stations instead of securing scarce ATF slots well in advance.
For fleets, this removes a significant amount of cost and administrative effort. The government said it also resolves the long-standing issue where two vans doing identical work end up in completely different testing regimes simply because one carries a battery.
Ministers confirmed they have no intention of adding HGV-only checks to the Class 7 test. The aim, the department said, is to place electric vans back alongside diesel vans rather than create a halfway category that still treats them differently.
Officials will monitor safety data once the change is in place, although collision numbers for these vehicles are currently low because they represent a small share of the fleet.
Drivers’ hours and tachographs likely to follow
The consultation response also signals that ministers want these vans brought under the simpler GB domestic drivers’ hours rules rather than the assimilated EU-derived rules that automatically apply above 3.5 tonnes.
If that happens, the tachograph requirement will be removed. The DfT said this would create a more consistent framework for mixed fleets, though the safety assessment is still underway.
Speed limiters stay for the moment
One area that is not changing immediately is the requirement to fit a speed limiter. Electric vans over 3.5 tonnes must still be limited to 56 miles an hour. The government said it wants more evidence before considering any relaxation, particularly as ranges increase and the vehicles are used more frequently on longer motorway runs.
A separate review will explore whether the limiter still serves its intended purpose in the context of today’s electric vans.
Levelling the playing field
In practical terms, these changes are about putting heavier electric vans back on the same footing as their diesel counterparts. Battery weight should not determine whether a standard delivery van is treated like a small truck. The existing rules were written long before electric vans became commonplace, and fleets have been dealing with the unintended consequences ever since.
Legislation will now be drafted to introduce the MOT changes, and the drivers’ hours reform will progress once the safety case is complete. According to the DfT, the intention is to ensure electric vans are not held back by regulatory quirks that have nothing to do with how they are used on the road.
