A study of eight cities in the UK conducted by Geotab found that Bristol City Council had the highest percentage of electrified vans and HGVs in its fleet, at 44.5%.
Transport for London (TfL) came last, with 3.2% of its fleet being made up of hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
2.6% of TfL’s fleet were EVs and 0.6% were PHEVs.
Most of Bristol City Council’s electrified vehicles were EVs (24% of the total fleet), with hybrids accounting for 20% and PHEVs accounting for 0.5%.
43.3% of Liverpool City Council’s fleet was electrified, made up mostly of hybrids (29.5% of all vehicles). EVs accounted for 13.8% of the total fleet.
Leeds City Council had the highest proportion of fully electric vehicles, with 26.4% of its total fleet made up of EVs, while hybrids made up 1.4% of the fleet.
Manchester and Nottingham’s councils reported that 26.8% and 26.7% of their respective fleets were electrified, although Nottingham had a higher proportion of full EVs, at 25.4% compared to 23.9%.
25.8% of Glasgow City Council’s fleet was electrified, made up mostly of EVs while hybrids made up 0.1% of the fleet.
Edinburgh City Council reported that 22.6% of its fleet was EVs, with no other type of electrified vehicle.
No councils surveyed by Geotab reported that they has any FCEVs in their fleet.
Aaron Jarvis, associate vice president at Geotab EMEA, said: “Electrifying fleets at scale can be a difficult challenge, especially for city councils that will need to ensure they have the necessary charging infrastructure in place to support these vehicles.
“Progress across the board is uneven, and many fleets will risk falling short of the targets needed to decarbonise urban city transport.
“That said, it’s positive to see some of the early movers in the UK setting the benchmark for what’s possible as we make the transition to net zero.
“We’re seeing more fleets adopt data-driven fleet management, which is an encouraging sign that operators are placing high priority on the transition to net zero.
“Tools like fleet telematics can make the difference in optimising route planning, performance monitoring and cutting unnecessary emissions from practices like idling.
“The key isn’t aiming for 100% EV overnight, but taking pragmatic, data-driven steps: identifying which vehicles to electrify first, optimising routes and reducing unnecessary emissions.
“Combining these insights with a clear commitment to electrification will allow councils to make faster, smarter progress, while supporting the last-mile transition in dense urban areas.”
A 2024 study by Geotab found that switching to an EVs could save fleets over £10,000 per vehicle, over a seven-year vehicle lifespan.
