Rapid uptake of battery electric vehicles (EVs) is being planned by around four in 10 fleets in the next few years, potentially exceeding market expectations and bringing a fleet-wide revolution.

A total of 42% of car operators said their fleet would be 100% BEV by 2024

When asked, “What percentage of your car or van fleet will be 100% BEV in the next three years?” in research by Arval, 42% of car operators overall answered yes compared to 37% of their van counterparts.

The analysis by the Arval Mobility Observatory 2021 Barometer also found that interest in EVs is fast-rising among all sizes of businesses; for car fleets with more than 500 employees, more than half (54%) of the fleet is expected to be electric by 2024, compared to 38% of those with fewer than 10 employees.

It was a similar picture for van fleets; almost half (48%) were expected to be electric by 2024 by larger employers and almost a third (32%) by smaller – despite a current lack of electric vans.

Arval said the results showed the incredible speed that fleets anticipate electrification taking place, among businesses of all sizes and both car and van operators.

Shaun Sadlier, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “This underlines the extent to which fleets are not just accepting, but very much embracing an electric future.

“Beyond these headline figures, two trends are notable. One is that the desire to electrify van fleets is not far behind cars, despite the relatively limited range of models available. Fleet managers are clearly expecting that situation to be largely resolved soon and Arval has recently seen a rise in its number of discussions with fleets about the introduction of eLCVs.

“The other is that the size of company looks set to have only a mild impact on the speed of adoption. While larger companies look set to move faster, SMEs are really not that far behind. This is going to be a revolution across the whole market.

“This year’s research also shows how quickly this trend has been developing. We’ve asked fleets across several reports now a question about whether they already operate or are planning to adopt BEVs in the next three years. In 2019, 41% said yes, but by 2020 this had risen to more than half (53%) and now two-thirds (66%) have responded positively. These are decisive figures.”

These findings come from the 2021 edition of the Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer research, which covers fleets and asks a wide ranging set of questions about fleet and mobility trends.

What percentage of your car and van fleet will be 100% battery electric vehicles in the next three years?