IN CONVERSATION
Plugged in
The partnership between JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions and Ohme is designed to help drivers get the best out of their vehicles. John Challen talks to both companies to find out more
IN CONVERSATION
Plugged in
The partnership between JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions and Ohme is designed to help drivers get the best out of their vehicles. John Challen talks to both companies to find out more
Charging platform provider Ohme has signed deals with many OEMs and automotive businesses in 2024, one of which is JCT600 VLS (Vehicle Leasing Solutions). Here, Peter McDonald, mobility director, Ohme (and EV Fleet World contributor) and Rebecca Eggington, head of customer experience, JCT600 VLS, explain what the partnership will bring and what the future holds.
What are the advantages for a fleet partnering with an EV charging company such as Ohme?
Rebecca Eggington: Overall, I would say the main one is peace of mind. We entered the partnership to support our customers and their drivers in particular so that they have an easy and cost-effective solution to EV charging. At JCT600 VLS we talk a lot about providing a full service solution, so if that process ends when the vehicle order is placed, we’re not providing that right service. What we really loved about Ohme was some of the shared values that we had and just how much it cares about delivering to the customer.
Peter McDonald: We enjoy working with partners – and we see that the fleet sector in particular still leads the way in where EVs are predominantly being adopted. Many JCT600 VLS customers are moving to electric vehicles and we want to support the company as it leads that process. It’s one thing to make an EV charger, but when we’re working with an organisation such as JCT, actually a lot of the work is in helping the driver – from an installation and aftersales perspective to providing tools that enable us to serve those customers quickly and efficiently.
“We’ve done a lot of work to simplify our customers’ ordering journey, so why then add in something that is over-complicated at the end?”
Rebecca, what are the specific advantages for you with this partnership in terms of the customer experience you can offer? How does it help your customers?
RE: It goes back to us being able to offer that full service. People were asking us the questions and we had to think about what we could do about it. To be able to slot a solution into our customer journey that does what we needed it to was fantastic. The Ohme offering was simple: a choice of two chargers – tethered or not – that are compatible with all vehicles. Sometimes, in this space, you can have too much choice. We’ve done a lot of work to simplify our customers’ ordering journey, so why then add in something that is over-complicated at the end? We currently have over 3,440 vehicles on fleet with a battery and, this year, 80% of our order intake has been for those vehicles. So it’s an area that requires a lot of attention and it’s important that we get it right.
And Peter, what are the cost advantages for fleet managers of providing their drivers with a home charger such as those from Ohme?
PMc: Many of the customers today charge at home – and that is easily the most efficient and the lowest cost way to charge. We want to work with customers to make sure that they have all the information at hand regarding off-street parking issues and the public charging network – and the costs involved in that – if that is what their drivers might need to use.
So the main priority is to make sure people are informed – and then we would love to be the partner that installs the charger for them, making sure they are on the best tariff. By doing that, we are giving drivers information that they might not be aware of at the start, which is helpful for everyone involved.
What problems have fleets and fleet managers already had to overcome and will they have in future?
RE: Driver perception has a big impact on fleet managers making wholesale changes. Therefore, it may not be sensible to do a one-size-fits-all approach. We’ve had customers where, to certain populations of the fleet, they’ve gone EV and getting their advocacy going among the drivers so that they can then share their experiences. People like to know and feel comfortable about things, so word of mouth does a does a lot to supporting change. Fleet managers face all sorts of challenges around costs and other factors but really, nobody wants to have a population of drivers that doesn’t back the decisions and doesn’t like what’s going on. It’s about doing the right thing for the right people at the right time.
PMc: The obstacles and challenges have been well publicised, but EVs can be tremendous value if you acquire them through a salary sacrifice scheme or as a used car. The other way you can generate value is by charging at a really low cost and we know that is done at the house and on a smart tariff. A combination of the above is the sweet spot for customers. What we try to do is find that sweet spot, support the partners and then find and transition those customers. Once they have a charger in the wall, they find it’s really easy and they can access really great value in terms of total cost of ownership.
“Many JCT600 VLS customers are moving to electric vehicles and and we want to support the company as it leads that process”
Is cost the biggest incentive to go EV, or is it something else?
RE: Fleets have to deal with all sorts of objectives coming down from the top of businesses – and cost is obviously going to be one of the biggest factors. Sometimes fleet managers have a challenge on their hands to make people understand that this is about more than the cost of the metal, it’s the total cost of ownership, which is where you see the real benefits in EV versus combustion engines.
But you can’t ignore the environmental objectives and sustainabilities that most businesses have these days. Everybody’s looking to move towards a greener future and fleet seems like a really sensible way to help to achieve that.
I think we’re also seeing a trend in the world of salary sacrifice, where drivers aren’t just moving business mileage to EV, it’s also about commuting miles. We’re seeing more and more conversations with customers about that and, in the world of offering salary sacrifice, people are reporting on what that change looks like. That means they are looking at how people are travelling to work and the impact they can report, from a business point of view, about supporting their environmental credentials.
For those fleet managers who have yet to make the switch to EVs, what do you think can be done to convince them?
PMc: As we’ve established, there are a variety of factors that go into decision-making on these topics, but cost and managing cost is key. If you can access electric vehicles through tax efficient schemes the employee is able to access incredibly cheap motoring. And that equation is even better if they can charge at home because they are saving time by having a fully charged car in the morning, ready to go. And that’s before you get into the fact that it is quieter, there are lower service and maintenance bills and the clean air benefits.
But it is somewhat dependent on being able to charge at a house, because public charging is more expensive and also operational fleets have the challenge of the driver spending part of their workday charging their car or their van.