EV fleet transition smoother than anticipated

RESEARCH by AX has revealed that the EV fleet transition is smoother than anticipated despite there being significant uncertainty amongst UK businesses regarding the effect of electrification on vehicle incident management.

To inform its white paper, Fleet EV Adoption 2022: Are UK businesses adapting to the accelerated electric vehicle revolution?, AX surveyed 151 UK fleet managers to uncover the prevailing attitudes towards EV adoption within the sector.

AX’s research revealed that the fleet managers of businesses yet to start their EV transition were expecting significant disruption to vehicle incident management processes as a result of electrification. However, those who had already begun the process of EV adoption said they had experienced less of an effect.

Investigating further, the report found that over half (51.9%) of non-EV fleet managers said that they anticipated an increase in vehicle downtime due to accidents with the introduction of EVs into their fleet. In contrast, just 24.2% of EV fleet managers said that they had realised that increase.

In addition, the study also showed that 44.2% of non-EV fleet managers expected an increase in cost of maintenance. However, only 20.2% of fleet managers that had already started EV uptake said the cost of maintenance had risen.

The discrepancy between the expected effects of the EV transition on vehicle incident management suggests there remains uncertainty amongst UK businesses on how electrification will affect them. It may also explain why over a third of UK businesses (34.4%) surveyed by AX have yet to start the process.

Scott Hamilton-Cooper, Managing Director of AX Automotive, said, “According to our survey, businesses that are yet to electrify their fleets are noticeably nervous about implementing changes. Despite the accelerated rate of EV uptake, there are still myths perpetuating that are hampering its progress – as our report suggests.

“There is clearly a significant discrepancy between the expectation and reality of electrification. Yet, the discrepancy we have identified in our white paper suggests that if businesses are fully informed of how the switch to electric is likely to affect them, then their EV transition journey will be smoother than anticipated.”