Van fleets continue to charge ahead with EV adoption but concerns about affordability and charging infrastructure show no sign of abating.

22% of operators surveyed for the 360 Media Group report said they plan to add electric vans to their fleet in the next 12 months

A new report from 360 Media Group highlights that electric vehicles now make up 7% of all new LCV registrations, expected to rise to 7.3% by the end of 2023.

And writing in Cox Automotive’s latest AutoFocus quarterly insight, 360 Media co-founder Ian Richardson outlined that 22% of operators surveyed for its latest Fleet Outlook Report said they plan to add electric vans to their fleet in the next 12 months.

But economic uncertainty has impacted fleet plans for acquiring vehicles, with 65% of fleets admitting to delaying their plans to transition to electric vans due to the energy crisis.

A total of 400 UK fleet interviews were carried out for the report, which revealed the most significant issues for van fleet decision-makers are the planning, implementing and charging of EVs.

These are followed by concerns over cost and charging. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of van fleets plan to invest in depot charge points in 2023. This number has remained consistent for three years, with ownership of premises, cost and driver resistance cited as investment barriers.

Richardson added: “Fleets have conceded that they must do more to engage with van drivers and find adequate charging options. With 30% of fleets not intending to invest in workplace charging, the driver requires a local charging solution. 40% of drivers cannot or will not charge at home, which makes working with local authorities to access reliably safe charging paramount.”

He also said that with just 51% of fleets adopting the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model for vehicle purchasing, fleets face a hard task ahead in justifying higher list prices.

Philip Nothard, Cox Automotive’s insight and strategy director, said: “Fleets continue to lead the way in the decarbonisation of road transport. It’s no surprise that many are concerned about charging infrastructure. On the part of the government and OEMs, much more needs to be done to educate them and move more fleets further along the path to EV adoption.”

The report also reveals growing confidence in the vehicle supply chain, with 48% of fleets expecting to see an improvement in the coming year.

Furthermore, with a UK van market exceeding four million vehicles, almost half of businesses (49%) are confident that the number of LCVs they operate will increase in the next 12 months.

The report also looked at the question of cars and found that fleets predict a little more than a fifth (23%) of their new car orders will be electric. However, 59% of fleets offer electric cars on their fleet choice list. The option to trade up is available in half of all fleets surveyed.

Electric cars are popular as a talent retention tool, with 48% of fleets being “very likely” to introduce salary sacrifice schemes in the future while 47% were very likely to introduce EV car subscriptions in the future.

Philip Nothard summed up: “The report’s findings are very encouraging for anyone eager to see greater EV adoption. The new entrants, in terms of EV brands, that are soon set to make a footprint in the UK market should help make decisions about scaling up easier for fleets.”

To read the full article and download the latest AutoFocus, click here.