Depending on where you get your information from (outside of EV Fleet World – and Fleet World – of course) it’s been a challenging time for manufacturers with their electrified products. In June, while the overall market grew by 1.1%, BEVs accounted for 16.6% of new cars, some way short of the 22% mandated by the government for individual car manufacturers. There is also a lot of talk from OEMs revising targets, adjusting production runs and casting a close eye over the models both on the market and in the pipeline.

However, if you look purely at the fleet segment, everything is rosy because everyone seems to be fully onboard with EVs. Company car drivers, helped by favourable BiK and salary sacrifice schemes, are accounting for the majority of EV registrations, with private buyers far less enthused by battery power.

But, regardless of who is driving what, there have been a few examples of vehicles being rushed to market, with end users not quite getting the vehicles with the quality or maturity they would expect. And we’re not talking startups, these are legacy manufacturers. Elsewhere, cars have been promised – in some cases for quite a few months – only for them not to reach these shores, for whatever reason.

Availability can be, to a point, overcome by the growing number of new EV models on the market, but quality levels cannot be allowed to drop. From personal experience, I’ve been in at least two brand new vehicles that have suffered from pretty major operational faults – including one time on the international launch of the vehicle itself! Put one of those cars in front of even a slightly sceptical EV driver and it could put them off the electric revolution for a long time, regardless of the perceived benefits. More recently, one car manufacturer has warned that a forthcoming (and long-awaited) vehicle could be launched without key elements included – such as some of its ADAS functionalities – and smart charging. These issues will be rectified at a later date by a software update, we are promised, but it’s certainly a less than ideal situation for the driver.

Ironically, these teething issues (some people might go further) come at a time when another (often derided) aspect of EV life is getting its act together. Not a week goes by without me getting a press release announcing the arrival a new charging hub or a major investment in infrastructure somewhere around the UK. Some would say “It’s about time” but, for others, it’s an example of the industry taking its time to make sure it gets it right. Some vehicle manufacturers could do with considering that approach.

Enjoy the issue.

John Challen Editor