Features
27 Feb 19

Experts show the way to zero emissions

A panel of industry experts share their experience of managing the change to EVs on fleets across Europe. Also read part one.

Pieter Goossens, Manager Global Business Development, Athlon International is predicting an accelerating shift to EVs over the next few years: “We have noticed a lot more customers asking about EVs – but it’s not just financially driven – there is a huge amount of focus on the environmental and Corporate Social Responsibility aspects."

“The range anxiety issue is moving into the background. Newer electric vehicles have a realistic range of 250km – even for more ‘assertive’ drivers, which is plenty for the majority of journeys. Some drivers will still see this is a constraint – especially those who don’t have access to home charging."

“At Athlon, the process we use to advise our customers on EVs is pretty much the same as we use to establish the right vehicles and fleet policies for all our customers. In essence, making the switch to EVs is no different to making the switch from petrol to diesel; there a few more steps, but it’s all about taking a deep dive into the customers’ operational requirements and individual drivers’ specific usage."

“If the telemetry data exists, then that helps answer some of the questions, but other questions are much more basic: for example if a driver wants to go electric but has four kids, there’s only one EV that currently fits the bill: the Tesla Model X and that’s likely to be way beyond most drivers’ budget."

“When it comes to the drivers, the change should be led by top management, so it’s important to get them into EVs early on in the transition. You will also probably find that around 20 per cent of your drivers will be enthusiastic early adopters while a further 60 per cent will wait for others to take the lead."

“Our advice is to use the 20% of early adopters as ambassadors to persuade the middle 60 per cent that EVs are great and don’t waste too much time and energy on the 20 per cent naysayers. They will almost certainly come round in the end."

“The choice of EVs on the market is about to expand dramatically, so in three years’ time the proportion of employees for whom an EV would work will increase, but then the challenge may be working out how to manage the massive increase in demand for workplace charging."

“And we are busy acquiring the specialist EV fleet management knowledge to provide our customers with those solutions too.”

Increasing demand from drivers
The UK’s largest leasing company Lex Autolease has committed a £1million to encourage fleet operators and personal lease customers to consider switching to EVs in 2019. The first 1,000 electric vehicles registered will each benefit from a £1,000 contribution from Lex.

Lex believes the incentive could increase the total number of pure EVs registered next year by around 8 per cent and will help Lex double the size of its pure electric vehicle fleet.

Head of consultancy Ashley Barnett said: “Fleet customers will be central to the UK reaching that tipping point and we are currently identifying the organisations who are willing to join us on our ‘Road to Zero’ journey."

"Drivers are beginning to ask their fleet managers: how do I get into an electric vehicle? But it’s not just about choosing the right vehicle, you need to look at driving styles and the ability to charge at home."

“We’re working with a number of customers about transitioning to electric and we have produced a fuel type decision tree to establish what proportion of their vehicles could potentially be replaced by EVs. We then help them build their road to zero strategy."

"We’ve identified a mileage threshold below which EVs become an option, which we overlay with individual drivers’ specific job role and likely charging requirements. There’s a lot of noise being made about the lack of charging infrastructure, but the most fundamental question is: do you have the ability to charge at home?"

"When the next generation of EVs come onto the market, I think the conversations will change. These vehicles are likely to have an effective range of more than 200 miles, which will cover the vast majority of journeys."

Author: Mark Sutcliffe