Breaking down the barriers to electric van adoption
Last year saw organisations make a decisive move from early-stage minimum-commitment electrification to full operational integration, with businesses embracing electric cars at scale. However, the story for electric van adoption has been less positive.
The decarbonisation of the van sector is some years behind cars, but arguably even more important. Yet, for many organisations, there are still questions over the productivity impact of eVans. Users of commercial vehicles remain hesitant to adopt electric vans at scale, with fit-for-purpose charging infrastructure and battery life when vehicles have a full payload key barriers.
That sentiment needs to urgently change, not least of which because of the growing role of Scope 3 emissions in procurement processes. Organisations unable to demonstrate compliance with Scope 3 for their mobility and transport operations could face the loss of contracts as major buyers make this a critical requirement. That’s where rental can play a vital role.
Rental as a strategic tool
The best way to understand electric commercial vehicle motoring is to test in real-world working conditions. Being able to do this with manufacturers and dealers is often challenging, however, rental provides a ‘no risk’ opportunity, taking a vehicle for a few weeks or months to learn from the experience. It is also critical to winning the hearts and minds of drivers who will need to adapt to electric van usage.
To avoid the high upfront costs, as well as being unable to benefit from improvements in battery technology once locked into a leasing agreement, many businesses are now using rental as a commitment-free way to bring zero tailpipe emissions into their operations. And as a leading proponent of electric motoring, Europcar has led the way in delivering mobility solutions that enable organisations to operate efficiently, effectively and sustainably without being tied into long-term lease agreements or residual value risks of ownership.
Europcar eVan fleet
Europcar’s goal is to make electric commercial motoring more accessible for more businesses by providing a choice of electric vans that can serve multiple use-cases and offering ICE/EV price parity. A significant volume of small and medium electric vans have been added to the Europcar fleet available from locations across the UK on long term flex rental of three months or more.
Models on the Europcar eVan fleet include the Peugeot E-Expert, Ford E-Transit Custom, Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, VW e-Transporter, Renault Kangoo E-Tech and the Mercedes-Benz eVito providing businesses with a wide variety of choice to find their entry route to electric motoring. These vans offer businesses a great way to put electric vans to the test operationally, as a real-world test drive.
Myth-busting
With a detailed handover of a carefully selected electric vehicle to suit the needs of the job or journey and training for EV newbies, even previous EV-sceptics can be converted to zero tailpipe-emissions vehicles.
Europcar works with businesses to provide practical information for drivers on charging, how to use regenerative braking to maximise range and how the weather and driving style impact range. And insight from Europcar’s 100% connected fleet helps tailor support to overcome early doubts from drivers.
Achieving Scope 3 compliance without long-term lease or vehicle acquisition
With many businesses now seeing Scope 3 emissions as a key criteria for contract awarding, EV rental enables organisations to demonstrate compliance without having to make long-term commitments to vehicle leasing or ownership. Flexible rental also allows businesses with seasonal demand or project-based work to add or remove electric vans from their fleet as often as necessary. This avoids the costly financial implications of having an expensive asset sitting in a car park during quiet periods.
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