Zenith, the UK’s largest independent fleet management provider, says that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) currently account for around a third of its new car orders.
Commenting on the trend, Alan Bastey, customer relationship director and EV specialist at Zenith, said: “The government’s announcement on the ban of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 is a welcome confirmation and will help businesses focus on their future mobility requirements. It means the change is only two or three fleet cycles away for the average company.
“Moving to an electric vehicle can be daunting for drivers, so companies need to design a policy that helps to inform employee choice and remove the perceived barriers. We see that engagement and education are pivotal to successful uptake.
“Demand for BEV passenger cars continues to grow, supported by growing choice, improved affordability and availability. Our teams across Zenith are working proactively with customers to help them manage the transition to BEVs and ensure that the mix of vehicles is appropriate to their business requirements.”
Zenith says fleets are seeing the long-term financial benefits of BEV and helping employees to make the switch. It considers a typical annual mileage for a BEV of 8,000 to 10,000 miles.
The consulting team at Zenith is working with fleet operators of cars, vans and trucks to model the Whole Life Cost (WLC) methodology to assess the impact of BEVs and often as part of their wider roadmap to ‘net zero’. While electric vehicles are often more expensive in rental costs, the savings obtained from fuel and employer’s NI can usually offset the higher rental.
Companies should also consider that low emitting cars have further corporation tax benefits as they are not subject to lease rental restriction and a lower 6% capital allowance rate. It will be even more relevant from April 2021 when the threshold for these benefits is lowered to 50 g/km from 110 g/km.
Zenith is a member of the Climate Group’s global EV100 initiative, which aims to make electric transport the new normal by 2030. Zenith plans to switch its own fleet to 100% EV by 2025 – five years ahead of the target date required by EV100.
Read more about how Zenith is driving forward electric fleets.