As electrification speeds up in 2024, how can Gensen help your brokerage?

Ford Mustang Mach-e

With 2023 beginning to fade already, we’d like to consider what’s changing in the automotive industry, how these changes might play out in 2024 and how BCF Wessex and our Gensen platform can meet these new challenges.

Acceleration toward electrification

Although the Prime Minister’s announcement that new ICE vehicles can be sold until 2035 alienated some manufacturers, many of whom have invested billions striving to meet the original 2030 deadline, this delay gives manufacturers five more years to broaden their EV ranges while allowing the EV market, especially the used car market, to mature before the ban comes into effect.  

Despite this delay, the government implemented the ZEV mandate which dictates that 22% of newly registered cars in 2024 must be electric. Whilst attracting some backlash, with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch calling for these new rules to be “softened” because upgrading the national grid and rolling out the super charger highway are running behind schedule, the automotive sector remains buoyant about the prospects for 2024.

Gridserve Electric Forecourt

Charging infrastructure expands

The charging facility providers continue to expand with Gridserve’s new state of the art Gatwick forecourt recently coming online (main picture), while EG Group has agreed to buy Tesla superchargers to ramp up its charging presence. Tesla itself has launched its new V4 Supercharger which can be used by all EVs and is capable of delivering up to 250kWh of power; or in simple terms enough to add 150 miles range in around 10 minutes.

It all shows that the infrastructure is growing at pace, Zapmap noting that there was record chargepoint installation during 2023.

Andy Bruce, Fleet Alliance CEO, expects greater EV supply

Meanwhile 2024 promises more EV availability, shorter lead times and price reductions, most likely stemming from heavy manufacturer discounts but also driven by increased competition as more Chinese manufacturers enter the UK market.

Recently several leading figures, including the managing director of Ayvens (the new ALD/Leaseplan business), the commercial director of Auto Trader, and the CEO of Fleet Alliance have suggested EV supply will increase while prices will fall this year, either via discounting or list price reductions, as manufacturers strive to meet the ZEV targets set by government and thereby avoid the hefty fines should they fail.

Salary sacrifice growth to continue

Within an ever changing, yet rapidly improving landscape EVs appear to be the future of UK motoring, with salary sacrifice representing the most cost effective way to meet the ZEV targets. But salary sacrifice is also very important for the second-hand EV market as it ensures the supply of the used EVs that will provide the springboard to meet the Road to Zero target set by the government. 

As salary sacrifice becomes increasingly more popular, as evidenced by the BVRLA’s Leasing Outlook Report, several of our clients recorded their most successful month for deliveries in December 2023. 

With leasing companies expecting growth to continue this year and some manufacturers reported to be working with leasing companies to position their cars attractively within salary sacrifice schemes, 2024 should see EV sales hit record levels.

How BCF Wessex can help in the electric transition

Salary sacrifice quotation platform

Throughout 2023, our innovative online salary sacrifice software platform garnered rave reviews and significant interest; several clients chose the software to underpin their new scheme as they sought to promote salary sacrifice more intensively to meet market demand and customer interest.

Gensen Screenshot

Three new platforms were launched last year as we continually partner our clients in developing bespoke solutions, from generating stock and special inclusive rate books, adding PHEVs to applying a new budget search, we anticipate several more launches this year and are encouraged by the recent enquiries we’ve received. 

The software continues to attract plaudits from clients and customers alike, particularly because of its ease of use, clear messaging, responsive calculations, and unique comparator. Employees can login to a bespoke platform, configured according to their employer’s requirements, and choose from an ever-expanding range of electric cars, with prices drawn from the latest rates, and including live motor insurance quotes based on the employee’s age and postcode. 

With the net salary sacrifice presented prominently and clearly, comparing cars using our smart comparator has never been easier, with the intuitive filters and search features enabling users to quickly and effectively whittle down a choice of  700+ cars to those they should consider further based on their vehicle needs and their personal budget.

As the platform has evolved, we’ve added customisation options. New for 2024 will be multi-funder ratebooks and customer-specific commissions which would allow more bespoke pricing options to be offered.

Gensen Salary Sacrifice Comparator

• Early termination insurance

  • Having partnered with a specialist insurance broker an early termination insurance (ETI) premium can be embedded within the salary sacrifice calculation, as can  Lex Autolease’s early termination protection, allowing our clients to offer a wide variety of cover, in addition to the original option of providing against early termination fees using the employer NIC savings. 

• Sharing employer National Insurance Contribution (NIC) savings

  • Because early termination insurance or protection increases the cost of a salary sacrifice car, we offer the option to share the employer’s NIC savings with employees  to reduce the gross salary sacrifice, thereby making the overall cost as competitive as possible, which in turn helps encourage scheme take up.

• Additional motor insurance options

  • We’re also in discussion with another insurance broker who can offer an integrated software solution to enable cars to be seamlessly tracked from quote to order to delivery, thereby streamlining the whole insurance process, while also offering extremely competitive premiums.

• Home chargers

  • With the staggering cost differential between home and public charging, home chargers are becoming an increasingly essential component of a successful salary sacrifice scheme, as set out in this article. Therefore, we have continued to work on a solution which enables chargers to be included within salary sacrifice, taking account of income tax, VAT and regulatory concerns, while ensuring simplicity for all parties and delivering additional savings to drivers; an integrated home charge option should be available within the software a little later this year.

Gensen continues to move forward

Gensen for Vans (LCVs)

As you may have seen in Broker News, we have recently updated Gensen by adding new features, most recently the option of including interest in lease or buy calculations to reflect the substantial increases we have seen in the last year or so. 

• Gensen for vans

  • But the biggest update is yet to come as we’re just completing our development of  dedicated calculators for vans, which we’re proud to announce will soon be available for clients to licence.

• Retail focused calculators

  • Meanwhile in light of the BVRLA’s Leasing Outlook Report highlighting the huge discrepancy between the popularity of EVs within the fleet and retail markets, we’re planning how to present the benefits of EVs to private buyers and working with a client to bring new calculators and comparators onstream later this year. 

• Gensen v2 is on its way

  • And, finally, please be on the lookout for Gensen version 2 which is due later this year; this enhanced software will streamline the operation of Gensen and enable us to deliver even more functionality, such as an integrated key-term search.
    
    

This article was originally published in association with Broker News, 16th Jan 2024.