A panel at the Electric Vehicle (EV) Summit has suggested that fleets are underutilising public charging, instead opting to acquire EV chargers when it is not necessary.
Speakers said that fleets often forget that public charge point operators (CPOs) have invested heavily into installing charging hubs in convenient locations.
Niall Riddell, CEO at Paua, said: “There’s a chicken and egg dynamic. We need to showcase to the buyers that charging infrastructure is sufficient.
“It’s out there, it’s ready. Where are the vehicles? We now need the vehicles to catch up.
“Investing in charging infrastructure is an element of risk. Without the vehicles we don’t hit the utilisation.”
Jonny Berry, head of decarbonisation, innovation and strategy at Novuna Vehicle Solutions, said: “The capital cost of enabling the infrastructure is high.”
The panel said that cost calculations can be difficult to make for fleets.
Mike Potter, CEO at CarbonFree Finance, said: “Justifying the cost for a lot of medium-sized businesses is the first part.
“Getting the calculation around that understood is one of the first barriers.
“[EV charging] is not a technical problem, it’s a human problem.”
Riddell said: “Businesses and fleets can be different things. Not all fleets are the same.
“We have to understand what kind of driver you are. If you’re doing 100% business driving use, you can comp the full value of the charging.
“If you’re doing personal distance as well, you have to slice a different set of numbers.
“The Government has thrown a spanner in the works with the two Advisory Electric Rate (AER) rates, for public and home charging.”
Gustavo Prince, director at Wenea UK, said: “One of the biggest challenges for electrified fleets is financing.
“It’s all about numbers, especially in the early years. That’s where leasing comes in.”
Ella Power, sustainability partnerships at Green.TV, said: “Every fleet is on their own journey. We need to make sure it’s done the right way.”
