EVs have range to replace 61% of European fleet vehicles
Electric vehicles could now satisfy the range requirements of the majority of European fleet cars and vans, according to a huge new study based on the aggregated driving data from about 100,000 connected vehicles operated by more than 5,000 fleet customers across Europe.
Telematics specialist Webfleet Solutions used its Fleet Electrification Planning Report to analyse how many of these petrol and diesel vehicles could be replaced with electric alternatives, based on their daily driven distances.
One-in-three fleets could go 100% electric
The results revealed that 57% of Webfleet’s customers in Europe could replace at least half of their vehicles with EVs, and 34.4% could replace all of the vehicles in their fleet with EVs. In the UK, 70% of company cars and light commercial vehicles could be electrified, followed by the Netherlands (69%), France (67%) and Germany (61%). The European average was 61%.
It is no coincidence that these countries also account for the lion’s share of the 144,000 charging points available across the European Union and UK, with the majority located in the Netherlands (26%), Germany (19%), France (17%) and the UK (13%).
300km maximum daily distance
The research was based on the premise that a vehicle could be replaced with an EV if over the course of a year it never once drove farther than 300km (188 miles) in a day, the average range of the most common, available electric cars and vans.
“The data is clear on this. The trips being taken by the vast majority of business cars and LCVs in the sectors we analysed could also be made by electric vehicles,” said Taco van der Leij, vice president of Webfleet Solutions Europe. “This will hopefully offer even more encouragement to the many businesses across Europe with ambitions to add EVs to their fleets.”
How telematic helps
He added that telematics data can help fleet managers answer the crucial question of whether an EV would be capable of efficiently and safely completing the trips that internal combustion engine vehicles are currently making, although other considerations are also key to the decision of which vehicles to transition to battery power.
“Trip distance is only one part of the puzzle,” said Van der Leij. “For example, costs, local charging infrastructure and the charging time of EVs are also important factors for fleets trying to determine if EVs are a practical fit for them.”
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