Powering up for a zero emissions future

There are many challenges to switching to electric, but one that keeps hitting the headlines is the lack of charging points.

It was reported1 that in the final quarter of last year, just one public charge point was installed per 62 plug-in cars purchased, a fall from 1:42 compared to the same quarter in 2021.

To meet the Government’s target of having 300,000 devices nationwide by 2030 – the date when the UK is set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles – this figure needs to almost quadruple to 3,130 installations a month.

The good news is that the Transport Minister, Jesse Norman, announced in February that UK drivers will benefit from an additional £56 million in public and industry funding to increase electric vehicle (EV) charge points across the country.

This investment, together with the ongoing drive of some very committed and progressive charging organizations, will help deliver up to a further 2,400 charge points set to be installed in the short term, while working to support local councils to deliver tens of thousands more in the long term.

Whilst investing in public charging points is a positive step forward, a snapshot poll2 commissioned by Europcar Mobility Group UK at the start of 2023 found that 59% of motorists currently prefer to charge at home; 23% at an office and 18% ‘on the go’.

This not only underlines the convenience issues that currently exist, but also the costs. Indeed, recent RAC research suggested that the cost of rapid-charging an electric car using a public charging network had increased by about 50% in the past eight months. It found that those who charged at home were still getting “great value” despite rising energy costs.

For motorists – and employers – to have confidence in switching to zero emissions vehicles, it is essential that more chargers overall are made available, especially rapid chargers, and that reliability is dramatically improved.

But in the short-term, for those fortunate enough to have off-road parking and a range long enough for their regular journeys, charging at home is a good solution and successfully supports the transition to sustainable mobility.

Of course, the lack of charging infrastructure is just one barrier for fleets to transition to electric. Supply chain, driver nervousness, high vehicle prices are a few others, making it understandable why so many business fleets are not fully ready to make a wholesale shift to zero emissions.

But there is a real willingness for change.

If the funding is there to help local authorities work in tandem with private business and charge point operators to drive the sustainable growth of local networks, it will ensure their collective knowledge and expertise will help deliver the most ambitious charge point plans for local areas and on a national level.

Hopefully, with this ambitious investment together with the continual progress of those within the charging industry some of the more recent sensationalist “charging headlines” will be a thing of the past and more motorists will make the switch.

1 https://www.zap-map.com/statistics/ 2 https://www.europcar.co.uk/editorial/en/ business/the-positives-and-negatives-of-makingthe-switch-1587/

Mark Parkin, Fleet Relations Manager at Rolec EV, discusses how businesses can smoothly transition to a fully electric fleet in the lead up to the 2030 ICE ban.

The UK’s ‘Road to Net Zero’ may seem far on the horizon, but for fleet operators the transition to zero emission vehicles is only a few replacement cycles away.

As with all instances of change, it is inevitable that there will be a period where businesses will need to adjust to no longer relying on fossil fuels. Creating an accurate and realistic roadmap to electrification is the best way to manage this transition as a business.

Moving to a fleet of fully Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) shouldn’t feel like a chore. There is an array of advantages to transitioning to electric vehicles, such as less maintenance, cheaper running costs and low Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax, that can benefit you as a fleet operator. Taking advantage of these opportunities as they present themselves, before 2030, will leave you in a better position as the transition plays out.

The benefits of BEVs: n Cheaper to run over time. n Lower fuel costs. n Improving the sustainability of the fleet. n VED exempt. n Low BiK tax for employees. n Lower maintenance. n Exempt from clean-air-zone (CAZ) or Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges. n Supported by Government grants and initiatives.

So, how do you begin to transition to BEVs?

The first step to a fully electric fleet is to evaluate your fleet in its current position. How many vehicles does it include? What types of vehicles do you