With new models, new technology, improvements in infrastructure, and Government subsidies, more and more consumers are realising the cost and carbon benefits of electric vehicles – it’s time businesses did too, says Andreas Atkins, head of Electric Vehicle Services, British Gas.
In 2013, sales of fully
electric vehicles (EVs) doubled to more than 2,500, along with huge rises in sales of diesel and petrol
hybrid cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) predicts further growth this year, fuelled by a large public awareness push from the
Office for Low Emission Vehicles.
New EV releases
The sharp pickup in sales this year has been fuelled by a number of factors. Government subsidies – including a recent commitment to a further £500 million investment in the sector between 2015 and 2020 – have played an important role, but so has been the explosion of models on the market. This year, we have seen major electric car and van releases from Audi, BMW, Ford, Nissan, VW and Renault, and this has been crucial to normalising electric vehicles, and ensuring more choice for businesses and consumers.
Range anxiety
Two major developments have been critical to overcoming the consumer range anxiety which crippled early sales. On one side, there are now a plethora of plug-in hybrid models on the market. With these cars able to seamlessly switch to running on petrol or diesel as soon as their charge runs out, there is no risk of having your journey hampered by being unable to reach the next charging point.
Charging points
At the same time, the investment in charging infrastructure has meant a vast improvement in the network itself. Estimates now suggest there are around 10,000 domestic, business and public charging points nationwide, with an increasing number of these being 'rapid’ units able to charge most electric vehicles from empty to 80 per cent in less than half an hour.
British Gas has been leading the roll out of charging units in the UK, with more than 2,000 domestic installations of its own to date, and we expect to see significant development in the 'rapid’ network this year.
Electric fleets
It is not just consumers who have noticed these changes. A rising number of businesses are investing in electric vehicles for their fleets, and others, such as IKEA, are getting ahead of the curve to install charging units in their car parks.
At British Gas we have pledged to switch 10 per cent of our fleet to electric by the end of 2015, taking our most recent steps with a major trial of 28 customised Nissan env200 vans that we hope can soon replace fossil fuel models across the fleet. We will be disclosing results of the trial in April.
We have introduced electric vehicles as part of our company car scheme, supporting this by installing charging points in our car parks, and are already seeing employees take these up.
We’ve also recently conducted
a trial with Thriev, an all-electric taxi service which will be rolling out across London throughout 2014.
Cost and carbon savings
This isn’t just about the environment. British Gas research has shown that the average UK company could save £350,000 by switching just 10 per cent of their fleet to electric, as well as reducing company
CO2 emissions by five per cent. For certain types of business, such as
transport and distribution companies, this saving rises to £486,000. Companies able to switch as many as 50 per cent of their fleet cars to electric would be looking at average savings in the region of £1.8 million.
Consumers are finally waking up to electric vehicles. With many of the early barriers long broken down, it’s time businesses followed their lead and re-evaluated their fleet purchasing practises to consider properly the cost and carbon savings of electric vehicles.