Upgrading your fleet vehicles to electric is a huge step – both financially and in the mindset of your company. There will be a significant amount of infrastructure change, with charge points needing to be installed at work and potentially at your employee’s houses.
However, at this stage of EV development, the risks are minimal. The concerns we guide our customers through are:
Treat this article as an FAQ for fleet vehicle charging. We hope to guide you through your decisions and help calm any anxieties you may have about transforming your fleet into electric vehicles.
Range Anxiety
One of the biggest hurdles in the mindset of an ICE driver considering switching to EVs is the idea that you will get stuck somewhere without the ability to charge your vehicle.
This fear is now a thing of the past. With new vehicles being released daily with increased mile range, you can now treat a charging session the same way as you could treat filling up at the pumps. Plus, more and more charge points are being installed at convenient locations.
For example, the new Ford E-transit has a range of up to 199 miles on one charge, you need to be pretty isolated to risk running out of charge – but this is the same risk as you would have with an ICE vehicle.
More and more charge points are being installed at services, in supermarkets, and in public areas. And, with apps like Zapmap, your fleet drivers will be able to plan their journeys with top-up charges included. Zapmap is a real-time EV charge point map, showing you everything you’d need to know about an EV charge point on the route.
Financial Output
A lot of our customers are concerned with the cost of upgrading their fleet to electric. However, with rising petrol and diesel prices, you would quickly find yourself saving money by using EVs.
On average it costs £10 to charge an electric vehicle from empty to full, when you compare this to £90 for diesel, the savings are significant.
If you have solar panels or another form of renewable energy to charge your vehicles, you would see even more savings.
One of the reasons you should consider upgrading soon is that the government grants are currently very generous. With up to £14,000 per business available for charging infrastructure. However, the grants are changing all the time – and it’s best to take advantage of them now. Take a look at our quiz to see if you are eligible.
Employee’s Concerns
Except for range anxiety, your employees may have some other concerns about EVs. Here are some of the most common we hear:
What happens in case of a breakdown?
Breakdown specialists such as the RAC and Green flag can all fix an EV on the road or tow it to a mechanic, in the same way, they can fix or tow an ICE vehicle.
They can even give an EV a power boost in case it runs out of electricity while on the road.
Charging at home
A lot of employers are getting charge points installed at their employee’s homes so they can charge ready for the next day. This is important if your employee has a vehicle for traveling to and from work.
You can now pay for the exact amount of electricity used to charge the company car through our partner Fuuse. This means your drivers won’t need to worry about a rise in their home electricity bills and you can be confident they have enough range for the day.
If you want to know more about switching your fleet over to EVs, get in touch with our team who will be able to advise your business on suitable grants and come up with a bespoke charging plan for your fleet needs.
