As the world becomes more conscious of looking after the environment, hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular among consumers. This may not come as a surprise as companies such as Tesla, Polestar, Nio and Nikola continue to make waves across the auto industry, encouraging mainstream manufacturers such as Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen to follow suit.
However, are EVs really the future and more importantly, should businesses consider electrifying their fleet?
The government has pledged that there will be no new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles sold after 2030 and no new hybrid vehicles will be sold after 2035, some might think that’s ages away, but the reality is it’s just over two cycles for many businesses that renew their vehicles every four years.
Martin Duddridge, Director of Ideal Autolease.
The road ahead
In preparation for the new legislation, manufacturers are already committing to making alternative-fuel only vehicles. For example, Volvo has committed to only making electric vehicles and hybrids by 2025 and, hopefully by 2030 for every car it sells to be fully electric. Manufacturers simply aren’t designing new petrol or diesel models.
While the government and manufacturers may be driving the UK towards an all-electric future, how is this going to affect businesses and SMEs?
People’s buying habits are changing and statistics for 2021 so far show that the move to alternative fuel vehicles is well underway. In June alone, more than 30,000 new battery-electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), hit the road – that’s 17.2% of all new vehicles bought in June. To further show how times are changing, BEVs accounted for 10.7% of new registrations whereas diesel cars accounted for just 8.1% according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMTT). With this in mind, any businesses that aren’t part of the change could be left behind.
That said, Martin stressed that although EVs may be the future, it doesn’t mean that now is necessarily the right time for all businesses to adapt. In fact, whether it’s time for your business to change to an all-electric, or part electric, fleet, may depend on specific circumstances.
Should all businesses make the change?
“A question business owners need to ask themselves is whether going green, at this very moment in time, will clash with or complement their other business goals,” Martin explains. “For example, if a company has a fleet of 10 cars and nine of their employees are mostly doing short journeys, then that’s nine cars that could be swapped for EVs. If that’s nine cars in a fleet of 200, that’s still nine cars that can be swapped for EVs.”
“When it comes to making the switch, businesses need to stop talking about what they can’t do and consider what they can do. It’s also worth remembering that there are other benefits, aside from preserving the environment, to adopting an EV fleet – but it all starts with an evaluation of their current fleet.”
For any business considering making the change, Ideal Autolease offers free consultations and can provide expert advice based on a company’s current fleet and business needs. To book your consultation, call Martin on 0330 332 6136 or email martin.d@idealautolease.co.uk.
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