Peter McDonald, mobility director at Ohme, digs into one recent story from the US that didn’t get as much coverage as some others.

Peter McDonald, mobility director at Ohme

It’s been quite hard to avoid news from the US of late. But, while some of the to-ing and fro-ing from the White House may not be to everyone’s tastes, there was one piece of news that was worth paying more attention to.

The news item in question was a report by JD Power on EV drivers in terms of their satisfaction and just how happy they were with their vehicle overall. The report’s contents were interesting for two figures in particular. The first was that the vast majority of EV owners – a whopping 94% – said that they were likely to consider purchasing another EV for their next vehicle.

From our side of the Atlantic, that isn’t too much of a surprise. Almost any EV ownership survey you find here in the UK records EV driver satisfaction numbers of at least 85-90%, if not higher. Even if given an EV for the first time as a company car, as opposed to purchasing it as a retail customer, it’s hard not to be swayed by the low running costs, more relaxing driving experience and the smug satisfaction of not having to fill up at a fuel station.

The second figure wasn’t quite so rosy, however. It stated that just 12% of respondents said that they weren’t provided with education about the total cost of owning an EV, something that Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV Practice at JD Power, said was a “shortfall in buyer education” by dealerships.

While these statistics are for the US, they’re unlikely to be all that different for UK dealers. Here at Ohme, we continuously work with our OEM and retailer group partners to help train staff to enable them to better inform their customers about the cost benefits of running an EV. However, on things such as the basic price of electricity or smart energy tariffs, there are often gaps in knowledge that’s vital for anyone running an EV to be aware of to maximise their savings.

EVs are great if you can predominantly home charge, but it can be tricker for others. That means dealerships should be explaining the breadth of charging cost options and also the total cost of ownership. EVs and EV charging aren’t ‘one size fits all’ in the way that we have grown accustomed to viewing ICE cars (though ironically, of course, those aren’t either in reality). It’s likely to be those customers making up that very small minority that haven’t enjoyed their EV experience.

While some fleet customers will have a different type of dealership experience, the survey raises a more general point about there being room for improvement at all levels. Those gaps in knowledge for retailers can be true for some fleet managers too. The majority of fleet managers have done their own calculations about whether EVs are worth it in terms of Benefit-in-Kind tax breaks for their employees and also helping to meet any corporate sustainability targets.

But how many of those same managers have drilled into the cost savings with home electricity tariffs is another matter. Yes, the home electricity tariff of their staff is obviously outside of their jurisdiction, but their drivers may not have done any homework of their own into what tariffs might be suitable for them personally as well as professionally.

If those fleet managers can demonstrate to their staff the potential available savings of a smart tariff at home, their drivers can save money on their personal miles. That has the knock-on effect of the fleet manager saving on the fleet’s running costs too.

While some fleet managers may feel that’s a step too far beyond their remit, the reality is that it will become a crucial one as EV fleet penetration grows. A recent report from Vauxhall on electric vans found that more than 90% of UK business fleet operators said drivers would be reliant on residential charging if they switched to a fully electric fleet.

Given the vast cost differences between charging on a dynamic tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go and a public ultra-rapid charger, which could be more than 10 times more expensive, the savings are obvious. Until now, with traditional ICE vehicles, many fleet managers haven’t had to pay that much attention to differences in refuelling costs.

With petrol or diesel, even between filling stations up to motorway services (usually the cheapest and most expensive respectively), the difference might seem substantial but it’s not in the same league as the differences in electricity pricing.

So, whatever side of the Atlantic you’re on and whether it’s cars or vans, fleet managers will soon need to start educating themselves on EVs beyond the vehicle itself.

A famous quote says that continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field, and never is that more true than with running an EV fleet.