In the history books of fleet management, 2021 will be remembered as the year that governments in Australia took the first steps to encourage the electrification of fleet vehicles. They are only baby steps so far, however they send a signal to businesses that electric vehicles are coming.
It has also created the opportunity for fleet management organisations to support their customers as they move through the EV trial and test phase towards a transition away from petrol and diesel powered cars.
Fleet Auto News spoke to Adam Morrison, Group Executive Asset Management & Aggregation Services for ANZ at McMillan Shakespeare, about the Interleasing discussion guide titled ‘A roadmap for the transition to EVs’.
The guide provides a roadmap for organisations so they can approach the new world one step at a time. Morrison explained that each organisation is different so the journey will be take a different path for everyone.
“Each customer is at different stages with their fleet. Some started their journey with Interleasing eight years ago and others are taking their first steps today,” says Morrison. “There are different stages of trials happening today, some customers are trailing one or two electric vehicles for the first time and others have completed phase 1 and are moving to the next phase and are converting all pool vehicles to EV fleets. There really is a variety however in the main, most are still determining first steps.
Test and Trial Phase
Trailing different vehicles is not unusual for companies when they look to change vehicle type. The first step would be to identify suitable vehicles, availability and service networks and then evaluate using a Whole of Life Cost model. Once they have a short list, staff would be invited to test drive and provide feedback.
When introducing electric vehicles to your fleet there are so many other elements to consider. The change will involve the entire business and the consultation phase needs to consider charging infrastructure, driving distances and staff education.
Interleasing are currently testing and learning across all areas involved in the transition to EVs. This test and learn approach will be ongoing, especially given the landscape is constantly changing, and also enables a range of potential partnerships to be explored to ensure client needs can be met.
“We’ve setup a number of committees internally to focus the different areas of electric vehicles,” says Morrison. “We conducted staff surveys to find out about their willingness to drive an EV; we’ve used telematics to find out how far people are travelling each day to understand the range requirements; and we are working with staff to investigate their suitability for home charging.”
Infrastructure
This is the area that paralyses most people when thinking about adding electric vehicles to their fleet. It’s an area that Fleet Managers have never needed to consider when choosing which car to buy.
“Unfortunately there’s no standard solution to suit every situation,” says Morrison. “It will take a consultative approach to work with internal and external parties to develop a solution for each location that needs an EV charging station.”
Vehicle Supply
This is one of the biggest short term challenge for EV early fleet adopters. Manufacturers are making a range of EV models and increasing production to supply markets where government polices encourage rapid transition. Unfortunately, not all EVs available today are fit for purpose for fleet use and vehicle supply constraints are certainly an issue within the EVs on offer due to competing countries with improved incentives and the general supply constraints with semi-conductor chips as EVs require a greater amount per vehicle.. More electric cars will arrive this year and the volume should increase by 2025.
Engaging Staff
This is a big challenge for organisations because the majority of people have never driven an electric vehicle.
“People are always surprised when they drive an EV for the first time. Many of our staff have had the opportunity to drive one for several weeks which has increased the number of advocates,” explains Morrison.
The Interleasing 3-step roadmap suggests the transition doesn’t need to be an all or nothing approach. Starting with 5-10 vehicles for employees that want to drive an EV will create good conversations amongst the staff and customers.
Switching to hybrid vehicles is another way to introduce drivers to electric motors so they can become familiar with the acceleration and silent motoring before the full conversion to EVs.
Tipping Point
New Zealand is certainly on their way, the recent introduction of the Clean Car Bill has definitely excited adoption however is technology agnostic and focused on emissions reduction. Many organisations are moving from the ‘test and learn’ phase into implementation by making electric vehicles the preferred option.
In Australia, there’s been a surge of interest from businesses looking to add electric vehicles to their fleets in 2022 and 2023 with manufacturers being overwhelmed with requests for loan vehicles.
Once organisations understand the main challenges (supply, fit for purpose and cost) they will be able to pivot quickly to create the vibe shift in fleet vehicles.
