Fleet resistance to the electric vehicle switch rose from Q2 to Q3 despite a fallback in barriers to EV adoption.

Europcar surveyed drivers and fleets for its latest EV Barometer and found that challenges with charging, plus the cost and choice of vehicles, are holding back slightly fewer employers from switching to a more sustainable fleet.

EV knowledge is also increasing; the data shows that lack of understanding is less of a problem today than earlier in the year.

Despite these improvements, resistance to making the switch is an increasing challenge for would-be electric fleets, rising from 14% in Q2 to 15% in Q3.

Four in 10 employee respondents in Q3 said they believe the cost of purchase and maintenance stop their employer going electric. Lack of charging infrastructure was cited as a barrier by 35% in Q3, down slightly from 36% the previous quarter.

Lack of model choice and vehicle availability as well as lack of understanding each dropped slightly on the previous quarter and remain challenges for the employers of around 18% of respondents.

Tom Middleditch, head of electric mobility at Europcar, said the changes, although small, show moves in the right direction.

“As improvements continue in these areas, and people gain more knowledge and understanding of electric motoring, we believe we will soon also see a reduction in resistance.

“There has been a lot of negative press around EVs in recent years. Range anxiety remains a concern despite the battery technology improving significantly. The unknown of a new way of driving is also a barrier which means changing to an electric fleet seems too high a risk for many businesses.

“However, we have found that when business drivers have the opportunity to try out electric motoring for themselves, in real-world conditions, the confidence increases significantly.”

Europcar also spotlighted how electric rental helps hesitant drivers understand how zero-emission mobility can fit into their daily lives. The rental specialist offers a range of makes and models and flexible rental durations to help businesses experience electric car and van driving in the real world.

Europcar also regularly updates its free digital EV Guide and Knowledge Hub to help drivers make sense of all the buzzwords and acronyms.