4 May, 2021

How to Turn Your Fleet Electric

• How to turn your fleet electric
• 7 steps to turning your fleet electric
• Get management & staff onboard
• Scope out your EV fleet strategy
• Access vehicle costs
• Assess running costs
• Take advantage of incentives
• Adopt fleet software for EVs & charge points
• Ensure adequate site power supply
• Getting started

 

The UK government has taken a historic step to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by the end of 2030. This deadline is fast approaching and therefore many businesses will need to start planning for their transition to an electric fleet. 

Some have already started, with the share of new electric vehicle registrations increasing across Europe and the UK in 2019, with electric vans contributing for 1.3% of the market share. 

Although we all know the switch to electric fleets is inevitable, figuring out the logistics, costs and implications as well as the rewards, is a challenge. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you consider all the factors needed to turn your fleet electric.

 

 

How to Turn Your Fleet Electric

Apart from the UK Government’s ban on gasoline cars by 2030, in a bid to be the fastest G7 country to decarbonise cars and vans, there are also the environmental and business benefits that are contributing to a changing landscape and consumer consciousness towards the automotive industry.

Electric fleets can be much more cost-effective for your business, due to no fuel costs, the ability to charge on low-cost tariffs, as well as the availability of government grants and schemes to support the switch to electric. 

In terms of environmental benefits, there are multiple. Road transport from gasoline vehicles currently accounts for 22% of total UK carbon emissions, which is the release of CO2 that is causing the global rising temperature of the planet and contributing towards the climate crises. The day-to-day driving of an electric vehicle produces zero carbon emissions and its lifetime impact is on average 50% less in producing greenhouse gases over the first 150,000 kilometres of driving, compared to a petrol or diesel vehicle. 

Today’s consumers are also much more concerned about the environmental impact of the businesses they use and work with. According to the World Business Council of Sustainable Development, in the UK, 18% of consumers are willing, able and motivated to take action on environmental issues. Customers are also more willing to buy from companies with a reputation for environmental and social responsibility. 

 

 

7 Steps to Turning Your Fleet Electric

So where do you start when wanting to turn your fleet electric? Tick off the below steps to make sure your business has everything in place to start the transition to a ‘green’ fleet.

 

1. Get Management & Staff Onboard

It’s important that you have the support of the main business stakeholders, senior management and the rest of the organisation when transitioning to an electric fleet. It is a significant change in operations and logistics as well as the day-to-day running of your fleet, so it’s vital that you have all the necessary people on board, that they understand all aspects of the switch and are also aligned with the overall sustainable contribution. 

As an initial investment as well as a long-term project, make sure you explain the full extent of switching to electric, such as the need for charging points at the workplace and possibly the homes of your fleet drivers, depending on the nature of your business. 

Selling the advantages of an electric fleet is relatively easy as there are many! But if you need some help, read our blog on the advantages of converting your fleet to electric. 

 

2. Scope Out Your EV Fleet Strategy

When you’re planning out what your EV fleet will look like, it’s important to plan ahead. Not only do you need to plan what it will look like in the present day, but also how it will look for years to come. Electric is the future, so you need to prepare for it. Your EV fleet strategy, therefore, needs to be scalable. 

If you are working with an EV charging solutions provider, then they will help and support you in the scoping of your EV fleet.

 

 

3. Assess Vehicle Costs

It’s important to know how much your EV fleet will cost the business before you take any action so that you don’t encounter any surprises. 

The initial cost of an electric vehicle does tend to be more expensive than a gasoline alternative. However, it’s advised to acknowledge the total life cycle cost of an electric vehicle, as running costs vary significantly from a petrol or diesel vehicle. 

The average cost of an electric car in the UK is £44,000 with the cheapest at approximately £17,000. It is the cost of the battery that drives the price up, but over time it is predicted that electric vehicles will come down in price, due to simple supply and demand as well as technological advances in producing batteries. 

 

4. Assess Running Costs

The running costs of your EV fleet are where you will experience the majority of benefits, so make sure you fully assess how much it will cost (or save) your business!

Electric vehicles use no fuel, so that is a cost that you can eliminate instantly. Instead, your electricity costs will increase due to charging the vehicles, but it still doesn’t equate to the cost per mile a gasoline vehicle costs. It is assumed that electric vehicles cost just 4p per mile, based on the average UK electricity price sitting at 14p per kWh and a car travelling 3.5 miles per kWh. This is a decrease of 91% on the average gasoline car costing 45p per mile!

Your maintenance costs for an electric fleet will also be reduced, due to the simple fact that there are fewer components in the car! With no engine, there is less likely for something to go wrong and therefore fewer maintenance costs for you to worry about. 

 

 

5. Take Advantage of Incentives

With the UK government committing to be net-zero by 2050, there are plenty of schemes, grants and incentives to encourage businesses to switch to electric vehicles. Now is the time to make the most of these and get your electric fleet up and running. Do your research and see which incentives are available to your business and which ones you are eligible for. In some cases, your EV solutions provider will be able to suggest and support you with your applications. Some to consider are: 

• The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) – This is a voucher-based grant scheme put in place by the UK Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) that can save you up to £14,000 on the initial up-front cost of your EV charging equipment. The grant is claimable on up to 40 charging sockets per company, with a cap of £350 for each unit. The WCS has already funded over 15,000 socket installations since 2021. Read more about the OZEV WCP grant scheme and how eFaraday can help here.
• 0% Benefit in Kind (UK Company Car Tax) – Electric vehicles now qualify for 0% Benefit in Kind tax, meaning an owner of a battery electric vehicle will pay £500 per month less tax than a driver of an equivalent gasoline vehicle. 
• Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) exempt from Vehicle Exercise duty – ULEVs, which include electric vehicles, don’t have to pay Vehicle Exercise duty and can be written down against corporate tax liability. 

 

 

6. Adopt Fleet Software for EVs & Charge Points

An important factor to consider is how you are going to manage your EV fleet. Going green enables much more control over your fleet and there is fleet management software available that is going to give much more insight into the cost, efficiency and carbon footprint of your fleet than you would previously have had. 

Not only can software assist in reporting and provide operational insights, but it can also act as fault detection, system monitoring, remote fixing of faults and issues, as well as maintenance checks. It’s not likely that something will go wrong, but if it does you want to be confident that you have the software in place to solve it quickly. 

When choosing EV fleet software, consider:

Driver management:

• Tariff optimisation tools that support Time-of-Use (TOU), so drivers can charge during the cheapest time of day. 
• Software to identify vehicle charging for personal use from work use and to reimburse the driver accordingly. 

Managing the EV charge point network:

• Live visibility & status of the charging network.
• Notification of any faults or issues with charge points. 
• Real-time information on energy usage and costs.
• Tailored reporting for individual chargers or an overview of the entire system. 

 

 

7. Ensure Adequate Site Power Supply

Deciding where to place EV charging points for your fleet, whether in the workplace or at employees’ homes, is an important aspect of your EV fleet strategy. Making sure you have an adequate power supply to the intended site is vital in enabling your EV fleet. 

Your EV charge point installer will be able to advise about your power supply and what is achievable for the site. However, we recommend choosing a supplier that can enable active load management, which acts to protect a building or site’s power supply and maintain power requirements whilst still allowing you to actively scale your fleet. 

 

Getting Started

There are therefore many things to consider when switching your EV fleet to electric. Although lots of planning is needed, with the right EV partner the process doesn’t have to be complicated. 

We can help turn your fleet management green and help you make the switch to electric. Get in touch for a free quotation on 0330 002 1154.