Moving to electric for business & fleet

As more of the top electric cars and new vehicle models offer greater range, faster charging, and the home comforts usually associated with cars at the premium end of the internal combustion engine (ICE) market, a larger number of businesses are moving to electric fleets.

Where once upon a time, electric vehicles in business fleets were most likely to be forklift trucks, golf carts and milk floats, now they are among the quietest, comfiest and most reliable fleet vehicles on the market.

In this guide, we’ll assume that you’ve already made the business case for changing a fleet to electric cars, and look at some of the practicalities of the changeover process itself.

1. Planning An Electric Business Fleet

As with any significant change to your business, it’s essential to plan an orderly transition. Make sure your new vehicles – whether you buy them or lease them – will be ready to use as soon as you need them.

Your business will be able to transition to EV contracts as the leases on the current petrol and diesel fleet come to end, so the switch can be easily managed.

Think about charging infrastructure too. Will you be able to provide this on-site at your business premises, or are you asking employees to charge at home or third-party locations?

2. Types Of Electric Cars For Business

The different types of electric cars for business use mean you have several options when building your fleet. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) might be your first choice, but they might not be suitable for all of your operations.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are an alternative, giving you many of the economic and environmental benefits of EVs, but also allowing conventional refuelling when electric charging infrastructure is unavailable.

Even if some of your fleet is not yet ready to move away from ICE, that’s no reason to delay the transition to electric for the vehicles that can benefit more immediately.

3. How To Review Your Fleet

Choosing the best electric car models for a business fleet means ensuring that you can cover the required range in miles, recharge at appropriate times and convenient locations, and account for running costs and carbon emissions (full BEVs are likely to be zero-carbon on the road).

Remember that, especially in business fleets, there may be tax benefits to introducing more electric cars, as well as reduced maintenance costs and fixed-price repair plans available on inclusive EV leasing arrangements.

You may even want to factor in any grants and subsidies available for employees to install home charging posts, allowing them to recharge their company car cheaply overnight.

4. Planning The Transition

Moving to an all-electric business fleet or an electric-first fleet procurement policy doesn’t have to happen overnight. Careful planning can make the transition a gradual yet efficient process to get you there as soon as possible.

For example, you can plan ahead by installing high-speed charging posts in your employee car park, or negotiating with local authorities to have them install streetlamp charge points close to your premises.

Again, an initiative to encourage employees to install home charging posts could also help – remember to plan for if and when they leave to work for somebody else, and how to account for the charge post when they do.

5. Beyond The Fleet

Finally, consider the capacity for employees who want to own or lease an electric car for business purposes, but not as part of your company’s fleet.

This enables you to implement an inclusive electric-first fleet policy, with infrastructure for contractors, temporary staff, visitors, and so on. You may also want to ensure you offer charging posts compatible with Type 1 and Type 2 connectors, and potentially other proprietary chargers if drivers in your extended business network use them.

Final Thoughts

An orderly transition to an all-electric business fleet can be a single procurement or leasing deal, or a more gradual process that builds your infrastructure and capacity over time.

Either way, the sooner you make a start on planning, procurement and implementation, the sooner you can start to benefit from reduced carbon footprints, lower engine noise levels and cleaner air around your business premises.