Richard Lilwall, CEO of Quartix, on the optimum time for businesses to transition their fleets to EVs.

Richard Lilwall, CEO of Quartix

Business leaders operating fleets will be aware that the Government is committed to the introduction of electric vehicles by 2030. From that point on no new conventional diesel and petrol cars will be on sale.

Whilst this is attractive from an environmental perspective it does means that businesses large and small will need to overhaul their fleet to meet the requirements which is sure to cause logistical and potentially financial challenges.

However, larger organisations may already be under pressure from customers and stakeholders to start to work toward hitting energy emissions targets. What should be done over the next few years, then, to help make the transition as easy as possible – from a financial point of view and in terms of physical process and implementation?

Why EVs?

There are many reasons to consider moving to electric vehicles. With rocketing fuel costs there is the possibility that by swapping some internal combustion vehicles for EVs organisations might start saving money. Running costs for an EV can be as little 1p per mile, compared to 8 to 10p per mile for a diesel or petrol car. Factor that out across a whole fleet and it could be a significant saving.

There are also notable tax benefits and most crucial of all the government’s low-emission vehicles plug-in grant which covers cars, vans, mopeds and motorcycles, trucks and taxis. The grant for cars is £2,500 while the pay-out for vans and trucks can rise to as much as £16,000.

More local reasons may come into the decision. In London, for example, EVs do not pay the congestion charge, which for petrol and diesel cars currently stands at £15 per day, which could save companies significantly per month.

The crucial current concern

While it is feasible to upgrade fleets to electric vehicles today, there are some issues currently adding pressure to those businesses that are ready to make the switch. Delays in production, supply chain issues, to say nothing of ever-growing demand, mean that the waiting lists for new electric vehicles are long. Electric car experts Electrifying estimate that for most models the current wait in the UK is around six months with some models taking even longer.

Buying a used electric or even hybrid car is tricky too, with very few models currently on sale and those that are offered are invariably snapped up quickly.

So migration could be a process that lasts several years regardless of the desire to undertake it.

Harvesting and interpreting the data

As with almost every major business decision, the key to making the right choice involves using data to make an informed choice.

Companies need to be able to figure out whether some, or indeed all their fleet can work electrically? Are there vehicles that can operate for a working day on one charge? Or would charging times need to be factored into the vehicle’s working day? If the latter, what would be the implications for the driver’s role?

For many small businesses though that is a potentially tricky process. They need to be able to look in detail at the way that their vehicles are used. For example, discovering the average length of journeys, which is essential data for vehicles whose daily operations may end up being limited by their requirement to be charged.

Companies will also need to consider factors such as the number of available charging points that are on site or are publicly available in nearby places.

The problem for many organisations is that they simply don’t have access to this data. If they have a tracking system installed in their fleet vehicles then this will give some of the information required, but additional data also needs to be considered, such as information about specific models of electric vehicles, as well as the location of chargers.

Companies shouldn’t look at their vehicle fleet as a single homogenous whole. Instead they need to acknowledge that different vehicles have different roles and usage patterns. Ultimately some vehicles in their fleet may be better suited to moving from petrol to electric charging soon, while, for others it might make more sense to put off the shift until as late as is feasibly possible.

Tempting as they are, businesses need to think seriously about whether those government grants and ancillary benefits will be available long term. After all, a change in the system could mean that EVs end up costing a great deal more than the company had already budgeted for.

A measured approach to EV adoption

I suspect that for most businesses the route to electric vehicles will be one that occurs gradually over time. They need to be in a position to collect data and then make an informed decision. Fortunately, there are technological solutions, such as our own system Quartix EVolve, that can help companies to weigh up the pros and cons of the shift of EVs and assess which vehicles in their fleet are the best candidates for migration.

These systems take a fleet’s recent GPS data to suggest the most feasible electric vehicle migration plan. They analyse the latest public information about EV vehicles and chargers and use a sophisticated AI solution to create a set of recommendations based on a fleet’s trips, the types of vehicles and the distances travelled.

This smart technology can ultimately deliver recommendations that highlight how fuel emissions can be cut and money saved as well as suggesting actual replacement models for the petrol fleet it thinks should be upgraded.

Most important of all though, the shift to EVs is a topic that every business using more than a couple of vehicles needs to think about now. Leaving it all to the last minute could work out to be a very expensive and time-consuming option.