40 DEBATE
Ben Duckworth Continued from Page 39
The government has set a target of 300,000 for 2030. We’re at about 60,000 at the moment and the trajectory we’re on, we’re not going to hit it.
If you look at commercial vehicles and the 2035 deadline, we’ve got one dedicated commercial vehicle charging point in the UK and that’s on the M61 in Bolton, the only one.
MR: I was at a service station in Yorkshire with six chargers. There were 12 delivery vans from one company there, six on charge and six waiting. The company had a load of new electric vans delivered but had no infrastructure in the depot to deal with them.
It is about making sure the ambition of the business isn’t over reaching the actual practicalities of making these vehicles work.
DM: For me it is about education, getting people out and using these vehicles so they can understand how to use them correctly and make them fit for purpose and to make sure the infrastructure is there.
BD: The conversation so far has been focused on set targets and are we going to be ready. What we’ve not talked about is businesses that have to make a change today to win contracts. If you want to work with the NHS, as of April 1 on any contract to a value of £10,000, you must have a carbon reduction plan and a demonstration of how you are reducing your carbon.
HVO, hydrogenated vegetable oil, delivers up to 90 per cent less emissions. So, if you have a fleet that includes new HGVs that you are not even thinking about replacing, that is the way to go.
WM: Normally there’s a first-mover advantage. When it comes to EVs there has been a first- mover disadvantage because you have to put in the infrastructure and then later upgrade it. That’s where the government really needs to help.
PJ: We need intelligent policy deployment
Claire Shore
going forward. If you look at the public charging network, why do we pay 20 per cent VAT to charge in public but five per cent at home? That’s an easy fix that any government could make in terms of dropping VAT to five per cent for all.
There’s no legislation around infrastructure. The rest of Europe has adopted ‘the alternative fuels infrastructure directive’. Basically, it’s mandated the infrastructures to be there ten years before the deadline to move over to electric and hydrogen vehicles. So, we’re playing catch up here.
How do you see the future panning out and what can businesses do to ensure we meet the challenges ahead?
DH: I do have some sympathy with businesses that are struggling with all this. There have been examples where businesses have bought vehicles after being given wrong information. And it is difficult because it is not a cheap exercise. We are in the industry and we want people to buy our products. But if you’re in a business, it can be a little confusing.
WM: Everything is happening really quickly. We don’t have time to sit in our silos and try and do everything ourselves. Everyone needs to work together, from education to businesses, to solve these problems. If we don’t, we’re not going to meet these targets.
MR: We have carbon literacy training throughout our employee network to help with the buy-in on change. If we can make it so that everyone understands why the business is going in this direction, it encourages an environment where people are going to make sure all the lights are turned off at the end of the day and that we charge the electric cars during the day when the solar panels are working. It is about taking people with you.
BD: Helping staff understand every single thing is important. But you can be environmentally sustainable, the greenest business in the world that goes bust the week after, so you have to be
Will Maden
economically sustainable in equal measures to make it work.
MR: There’s an awful lot for a more mature workforce particularly that’s really difficult to get your head around. It’s like the industrial revolution but it’s happening in ten years. It’s a really compressed time. That’s a challenge for us as employer.
WM: There’s a lot of misconceptions about all new technologies. Actually, it’s all pretty good, it’s good fun. Driving these electric vehicles is good fun.
ZW: The change is coming and, while there are a lot of obstacles in our way, if we work together and share knowledge we can all help each other along the way.
MY: When it comes to the electrical revolution it is difficult for some people to retrain at the stage they are at in their careers. We have got a skills shortage and that is without factoring in the people that will retire or move on. We will have a big issue in the motor trade in the next ten years. Who is going to fill their shoes?
PJ: Road transport is responsible for over 25 per cent of greenhouse gases so we know we need to decarbonise the sector, no discussion.
The UK motor industry employs 800,000 people directly and indirectly and those are highly skilled, highly paid jobs, so we need to protect those going forward.
We are in a time of unprecedented change but also that brings opportunity as well. As The Northern Automotive Alliance we are here to support manufacturers in the region to pivot into the low carbon product supply chain, to move into EV parts, into hydrogen vehicle components and also to help manufacturers decarbonise.
As Claire said, it’s about collaboration, the power is in collaboration. It’s working together.
• IMI Level 1 Award in Hydrogen Vehicle Awareness
Gain future proof skills with our Hybrid Electric automotive
Training Centre (HEAT) courses including:
• IMI Level 3 Award is Diagnosing, Rectifying and Recalibrating ADAS Components
• IMI Level 3 Award in Electric/ Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement
• IMI Level 4 Award in Diagnosis Testing and Repair of Elective/Hybrid Vehicles and Components (QCF)
Can you take the HEAT?
Book now.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
