Could a greener fleet save you money?

Could a greener fleet save you money?

As the government announced its plans to clean up the UK’s air quality by cutting down on air pollution, electric vehicles have taken a spot in the headlines — even more so now that the diesel and petrol cars have been branded significantly harmful for the environment. For business owners, a fleet of reliable vehicles is a vital cog in the smooth running of their business. However, electric vehicles have a stigma attached — a smaller mileage range, longer time taken to recharge and less charging points than petrol stations. It can seem like a no-brainer to keep running with a petrol or diesel fleet.

But, maybe now there is more that needs to be considered. It’s time to think about the bigger picture — thinking about the future of our environment. With significant developments in the electric vehicle market, and as plans from the government begin to get rolled out across the country, now could be the perfect time to start your fleet’s transition to electric or hybrid engines.

Will success continue in 2018?

2017 marked a record year for the electric vehicle market, averaging over 4,000 new registrations a month. Significant progress compared to 2013, when the entire year saw just 3,500 new registrations. Progress is expected to continue throughout 2018 with the air pollution implications very much in the spotlight — ignorance and a lack of knowledge is no longer an excuse. The end of 2017 marked approximately 132,000 new electric car registrations and over 5,100 electric vans. This could be attributed to the government’s plans to clean up the UK’s air quality, or because there is now a better choice for van drivers and fleet managers.

Previous years have brought a very limited choice to the electric van market, however, most big automotive brands that have a recognisable name in the electric vehicle market, now have a van counterpart on the market too — Nissan, Renault, Peugeot, and Mercedes to name a few. There is now more choice available for van drivers than ever before.

Industry revolutions

The industry has been exposed to many challenges over the years since electric vehicles were first launched on the market. The lack of charging points, the time it takes to charge and the limited mileage range have always attracted criticism from drivers. However, new developments suggest that the market could have finally beaten some of the challenges.

In our current market, rapid charging points are the quickest way to recharge electric batteries — currently taking around 20 minutes to recharge. Thanks to a multimillion pound deal with ChargePoint back in May 2017, InstaVolt is installing at least another 3,000 rapid charging points across fuel station forecourts in the UK. In addition, researchers claim they could have developed an ‘instantly rechargeable’ method that recharges an electric battery in the same time as it would take to fill a gas tank — a solution to the biggest headache of electric vehicles.

Nissan has also proven that other challenges in the industry can be resolved — with its new Nissan Leaf model offering double the mileage range compared to previous models. This is a significant indicator that the same can done for their electric van counterpart.

Daily fees

One of the first steps to helping the government reach its air quality and pollution targets is the introduction of clean air zones in some of the worst polluted cities in the UK. London and Oxford are amongst cities which are introducing Ultra Low Emission Zones and Zero Emission Zones to improve their air quality. Oxford plans to be the first zero emission city in the world by 2020. Other cities such as Leeds, Southampton and Derby, are also amongst the cities that plan to introduce clean air zones in their city centres.

Clean air zones will reward clean vehicles with free entry, whilst vehicles that don’t abide by the emission standards will be charged a daily entry fee to enter the zone. Failure to pay the daily toxin charges can result in a penalty charge being issued to the driver or registered owner of the vehicle. Although, it has not yet been announced what these zones will mean for commercial vehicles right now, in the near future, it is likely that the charges will be applied to all vehicles. Introducing electric vans to your fleet is the first stop to avoiding being affected by the toxin charges. An ultra-low emission or zero emission vehicle will be able to drive freely throughout the zones without daily charges.

What do you think? Are you ready to make the transition to electric commercial vans yet?

 

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