A range of new tools enabling fleets to measure the efficiency of electric vehicles has joined FleetCheck’s fleet management software.

Fleets are looking for reliable information and clear reporting on EV efficiency

The tools allow businesses to record charging information and measure it against the real-world performance of electric cars and vans, generating reports ranging from individual vehicles to the entire fleet.

Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said the new tools had been promoted by the growing realisation that efficiency varies quite widely from one EV model to another, along with the increase in the cost of charging seen over the last year or so.

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) reported last week that EV efficiency is becoming a much higher priority for fleets; its members have said that some widely used EVs are struggling around the two miles per kWh mark while competing cars can deliver almost twice that figure.

Golding elaborated: “Fleets want to know more about which charging options and which vehicles are costing them the most money so they can take action. For almost all operators, it’s a relatively new area, and they are looking for reliable information and clear reporting.

“The new tools we have introduced provide this, enabling data to be imported directly from external sources or entered manually, so that the reporting on each vehicle provides an accurate picture of fuel costs and use.”

He added that the remedial measures for EVs where charging costs were felt to be excessive were essentially the same as for petrol or diesel vehicles.

“The variables that need to be investigated are almost identical – is the fuel being acquired at the best cost? Is there a fault with the vehicle? Is the driver too aggressive on the road?

“In our view, fleets are very much starting to think about EV charging in exactly the same way as fuelling internal combustion-engined vehicles, and the solutions they are applying – from specifying where fuel can be bought to encouraging better driving – are much the same.”