The continued growth in uptake of electric cars speaks for itself with more and more fleet managers and drivers making the switch. But understanding where petrol or diesel remains more relevant for your fleet or where you can practically and cost-effectively replace with electric vehicles (EVs) is key to making your electric transition as seamless as possible. But it does require careful planning. Our advice is designed to help.
A critical question most fleet managers ask when considering adopting electric vehicles (EVs) into their fleet is: How will EVs fit into my business and how do they compare to the diesel and petrol vehicles I currently use?
To begin the process of finding out whether EVs may be practical, you need a granular understanding of how your current vehicles are used, and what is their cost to the business. What are the typical mileage patterns? Is the daily mileage constant, or does it tend to fluctuate? Is this mainly motorways or urban routes? What are the requirements in terms of vehicle size, load area and what are passenger requirements? Which vehicles are returned home overnight or staying at work during the day with enough time to charge slowly? For easy-to-understand advice on which powertrain type could work best, our free ŠKODA-iV-4-ME advisor tool guides drivers through a series of questions before giving advice on which fuel type would work best – whether that’s EVs, plug-in hybrid, petrol or diesel. Additionally, our free self-assessment ŠKODA-iV-4-Fleet Readiness tool will help fleet managers gauge business readiness.
Once you have a clear idea about daily journey needs, you can start to compare the range and functionality of EVs with your business need and daily mileage requirements and start to look at charge point availability.
Given the whole life cost advantages of EVs, although replacing the lower mileage vehicles on your fleet first may be considered an ‘easy win’, the Energy Savings Trust says, “In order for fuel savings to offset their higher purchase costs, battery EVs are best suited to vehicles covering more than 30 miles a day, depending on the real-world driving range of the vehicle. The higher the daily mileage, the greater the savings achieved.” You can read more here.
Next, using EV data evaluation tools such as our own fuel savings and range calculator or telematics analysis using the free Future Fleet Analysis tool from Volkswagen Financial Services Fleet, you can weigh up the cost implications. Forming a clear total cost of ownership (TCO) picture of EV versus ICE – in terms of fuel/energy costs and projected savings can help determine which vehicles can be replaced with EVs at a cost lower than (or equal to) diesel or petrol alternatives.
With the introduction of clean air zones (CAZs) and London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), older more polluting vehicles may be ideal candidates for replacement. In general, unscheduled repair frequency and increased repair costs rise with higher mileage vehicles - which can also impact a vehicle’s residual value. And although the acquisition costs of EVs tend to be higher, according to the AA, “There are fewer parts to fail or to maintain. There’s no clutch to replace, and fewer fluids, casings, and cogs to wear out.”
Understanding the current emissions of your entire fleet will enable you to pinpoint the higher emitting vehicles that, if replaced, can help you meet your environmental, social and governance goals. You can search for new and used cars to find fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (by make and model) on the Vehicle Certification Agency website.
We’re always here to offer support whenever you need it – regardless of whether you’re a current customer or not. All you need to do is get in touch with our ŠKODA Fleet team.