Fleet managers struggling to understand the implications of transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) are being offered educational and myth-busting aid by Mercia Fleet Management.

The fleet management division of EV salary sacrifice specialist Fleet Evolution is running a series of EV workshops through June and July, designed to put every aspect of running EVs under the microscope.

The free 30-minute highly informative sessions, which can be physical at a customer’s place of work or virtual, draw on the company’s experience of managing EVs for fleet customers and will aim to address all the current fleet concerns involved in running TVs.

Each session will look at the practicalities of living with an electric car on a 24/7, sanity-checking manufacturer claims, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and myth-busting popular claims by sceptics.

Hosted by Andrew Leech, founder and managing director at Fleet Evolution and head of the Mercia Fleet Management division, the workshops will dissect in fine detail every aspect of electric car operation from first delivery.

The sessions include the road to the electric revolution; charging an electric car; charging infrastructure and tips; planning a road trip (comparing petrol vs EV costs and times); comparisons between used EV and petrol; whether to buy, lease, or salary sacrifice; real-world mileage and brand reliability; charging costs without the availability of a home charger; running EVs in winter;, selling an EV and extra topics such as electric vans and towing using an EV.

Thew will also focus on dispelling busting some of the myths that are still associated with EVs, such as the claim widely shared on social media that they are more prone to catch fire than equivalent ICE models.

Leech, who has almost 15 years’ experience of running an electric car personally, said that the sessions would be available for both existing customers and new prospects.

“(They) explore the practicalities of going electric and, as live sessions, we contain plenty of time for questions and answers – we will also demonstrate how you can introduce EVs to all employees where relevant, and what funding methods, such as salary sacrifice, are most appropriate,” he added.

“The sessions will be hosted online, but if you’re based near one of our customers, we can bring the show to you. If you prefer, just let us know and we can come to you with a selection of EVs.”

Salary sacrifice has become one of the most popular methods of funding EVs in recent months as more companies appreciate the recruitment and retention benefits of offering employees a fully expensed electric car through this method.

The EV salary sacrifice scheme provided by Mercia Fleet Management’s sister company, Fleet Evolution, for example, includes all servicing and repair costs, road fund licence, fully comprehensive insurance, corporate discounts and no deposit.

“An electric car salary sacrifice scheme is undoubtedly the most cost effective way of making the latest electric models available across a business and opening up EV ownership to a wider audience,” said Leech.

Companies wishing to book one of the free sessions can do so here.

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