Barriers to going electric are starting to fall away for fleets, although further action is needed.

Europcar Mobility Group UK’s electric vehicle barometer for H1 2025 shows a “hint of progress” in EV acceptance amongst businesses.

Of all potential barriers stopping businesses from switching to a more sustainable fleet, only employer/employee resistance has become more of an issue between H1 2024 and H1 2025, rising slightly from 12.8% to 13.4%.

In H1 2024, an average of 12% of businesses said none of these issues held them back from going electric, a figure which rose encouragingly to 21% by H1 2025.

All other barriers have seen slight drops, with concerns around charging infrastructure cited as a barrier by 31% of businesses in H1 2025, compared to 40% in H1 2024.

Similarly, choice of models fell from 19% to 14%; lack of knowledge fell from 22% to 17% and concerns about charging infrastructure dropped from 35% to 31%.

Tom Middleditch, head of electric mobility at Europcar, said it was encouraging to see sentiment moving in the right direction amongst business drivers, but warned that the shift is marginal.

“There is still a long way to go before businesses will feel confident to make the switch to EVs. More government support will be vital for getting businesses and employers on side in the coming years as we approach the end of the line for new petrol and diesel vehicles.”

Middleditch also said the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate should help further reduce the vehicle availability barrier by pushing manufacturers to increase the proportion of electric vehicles they produce within the next few years.

“That could be why our latest barometer shows such promising results, so it will be interesting to see if the impact can be seen more clearly later in the year. However, the ZEV mandate changes could mean there is less urgency for fleets to make the switch as they have more time. Further hindering the switch is the need for reassurance that driving electric will not impact business productivity – drivers and businesses need to know suitable chargers are available where and when they need them and need to have their questions answered on the practicalities of zero emissions driving for work.”

To help businesses and drivers gain a better understanding of EV life, Europcar regularly updates its free digital EV Guide and Knowledge Hub. The beginner’s guide to EVs answers the most common questions and helps drivers make sense of all the buzzwords and acronyms. It also explains how switching to an EV will help save money and reduce emissions.

The guide covers EV incentives available and details how to charge an EV, including explaining the different types of chargers. Europcar customers hiring an EV also gain access to charging maps through the EV Guide to ensure finding a suitable charger is quick, easy and convenient.