Peter McDonald
As this issue of EV Fleet World takes a peek at the vehicles on the horizon, Peter assesses the landscape for different sectors and models
At first glance, sales of new electric cars are having a bumper year. With supply largely no longer constrained, sales of BEV models so far this year are up 40.5% on 2022 with plug-in hybrids up more than 30%.
It would be easy for those involved to sit back, pat themselves on the back, put their feet up and consider it a job well done. The reality, however, is somewhat different and paints a rather less rosy picture than those on-paper statistics suggest.
For starters, the majority of those EVs sold are to fleet and business drivers. That’s great for the people looking to take advantage of a low benefit-in-kind tax bracket – and great for fleet managers looking to reduce the running costs of their fleet. It’s even great for those grey fleet drivers or those on a salary sacrifice scheme.
But it's not so great for retail buyers. EV sales among those drivers remain poor for numerous reasons too lengthy to list right now, but that’s definitely a sector of EV sales and its surrounding industries that isn’t working as well as it could.
Why should that retail headache bother those aforementioned fleet drivers and managers? Again, on the face of it, not at all, but a truly healthy market exists when all areas of it are healthy not just one portion of it. If we’re all to move towards our e-mobility future, then that strong bridge has to be securely built from both sides, not just one.
The same is true of the eLCV market as well. While the BEV side of the LCV sector is growing (up 16.4% YTD on 2022), it remains less than 6% of the market. And while some larger, high profile fleets such as BT and British Gas have adopted eLCVs in big numbers for their van fleets, the reality is that they remain in the minority overall.
This is undoubtedly an area that will have to be improved upon going forward and crucial to that will be improvements in charging, especially in that eLCV market. Being able to charge a vehicle at a driver’s home will always be the cheapest option for a fleet manager, but that needs managing especially in the area of employee retention.
Even if the driver in question remains on the standard electricity tariff, the savings on running costs over petrol, and especially diesel, will be significant. Yes, there will be a cost for fitting the chargers, but fleet managers will be surprised at how quickly that is recouped.
On fuel alone, at an efficiency rating of 3mls/kWh and at the new tariff of 28p/kWh, that equates to a cost of 9.3p/mile. By comparison, at diesel’s current price and at 40mpg, that works out to 18p/mile – almost double the price of electricity. As successive governments push taxation on fossil fuels, that gap is only likely to grow too. As always for fleet managers, total cost of ownership will continue to be crucial with the appeal of eLCVs having to grow at a faster rate than it has until now.
If we’re all to move towards our e-mobility future, then that strong bridge has to be securely built from both sides, not just one
Talking of politics too, finally it’s hard to ignore what effect the dropping of the 2030 net zero target will have on decisions for fleets. While it would be easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and think that the appeal of plug-in hybrids will reduce, I feel that the reality is that it will continue to grow alongside EVs as fleets move to lower those running costs. If a full EV isn’t suitable for a particular driver, then a PHEV is the next best thing, particularly if there is easy access to regular charging either at the workplace or at home.
Compared to ten, or even five, years ago, the strides forward made by the car industry, fleet sector and home and public charging have been major, but there’s no question that there’s still some way to go. Now is not the time for us to be complacent.
Peter McDonald is mobility director at Ohme. Prior to his current role, he spent two decades working for automotive manufacturers including Nissan, SEAT and the wider Volkswagen Group.
