Welcome to

As a football fan – and season ticket holder at Brighton and Hove Albion – I find it difficult sometimes to appreciate that not everyone is as engrossed in the sport as I might be. Take, for instance, the eve of the April Great British Fleet Event, which took place just days after I went to Wembley Stadium for Brighton’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

Talking to people before the event, I’d been explaining about my day there alongside one of the Challen Jnrs, but there were at least a few blank faces in front of me when the football chat went onto another, more in-depth level.

“What’s this got to do with the fleet sector?”, I hear you chant (albeit probably not from the stand of your nearest/favoured sports ground). Well, the paragraph above will probably contain certain terms you’re familiar with, even if you cannot contain your indifference about football – but you might not fully understand or appreciate it. A bit like moving a company’s vehicle fleet to EVs. The term ‘salary sacrifice’ might be known to fleet drivers, but there is probably a certain percentage who don’t know a) exactly what it is; b) how it could benefit them and/or c) the best way to find out more. Meanwhile, there are other options in the world of fleet to assist the shift to EVs that may also have passed drivers and managers by.

The thing is, time is running out. In footballing terms, while it’s not quite nearing the end of the game, it might be time to think about changing your tactics to get a positive result. And this ‘game’ doesn’t go to extra time or penalties. As it stands, the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel passenger car sales is still the desired end goal – and, thankfully maybe, there’s no VAR (if you know, you know!).

Thankfully, EV Fleet World is on hand to provide some analysis, opinion and real-life examples of how the transition to an EV fleet can work in the best way for your business. Within the pages of this edition alone, there is advice from all corners of the sector to help make EVs part of your life, as well as experiences from fleets that have been there, done that and are now profiting (literally, in some cases) from battery-powered vehicles.

As well as that information, there’s a selection of new product reviews as well as details about what EVs will be arriving and when. If you’re looking at your current ‘squad’ of vehicles and thinking some might need upgrading, it’s probably a good time to decide about where reinforcements should be made and planning for the future.

The good news is there is an ever-increasing number of new players on the market to suit your needs – as well as a whole host of support services to help manage the evolution to EVs.

Enjoy the issue.

John Challen Editor