“What people are finding, although it’s an expensive learning journey, is that once they start getting to a system where they are up and running and managing it better, the cost of actually operating those vehicles is significantly less.”
And it’s not just the fuel that is cheaper for businesses. Michael says they are also much easier to maintain.
“In an EV you’ve got typically about eight to 10 moving parts,” he says. “There’s very little to go wrong.”
Fuuse has built up an impressive client list. British Airways has almost 1,000 chargers, United Utilities charges at every site in the North West. And more are getting on board.
Michael says: “Probably 30 to 40 per cent of our clients have fleets that are now 100 per cent electric vehicles. They are totally used to using it.
“You can build your own charging infrastructure at your own workplace, you can open it up to your employees, you can let staff charge their vehicles, charge your own fleet, you can even allow visitors to charge.
“It becomes a convenience that you have this ability to just plug in and charge anywhere. There’s a vast array of different organisations that are doing this stuff in Lancashire.
“It’s having a massive economic benefit as well. It is creating a vast amount of jobs and you can’t really underestimate how big that is either.”
For businesses working in this sector, the opportunities are tremendous.
Michael says: “As a Lancashire business, we have moved into this market and the growth rate is phenomenal.
“There are 31 million cars on the road and currently two million of those are now pure electric. We have so much more to go as a business. We have inbuilt growth and all the benefits that brings.”
Another business embracing the electrification revolution in Lancashire is refuse collection vehicle manufacturer Dennis Eagle which, at its Blackpool site, oversees the production of EV cabs.
Oliver Minett, general manager at Dennis Eagle Blackpool, says: “We play a key role in supporting the production of our eCollect vehicles at Blackpool.
“We have 90 members of staff across the
site collaborating to build what is essentially 30 per cent of the fully electric vehicle. This vital contribution to local manufacturing within Lancashire is so important to our people and the communities we serve, further demonstrating our steadfast commitment to delivering sustainable refuse solutions at a local level.
From a sales perspective, business customers across many sectors are now switching to electric, as Miles Roberts, innovation development manager for Chorley Group explains: “With passenger cars, that’s almost
Expert View
PLANNING THE ROAD TO ELECTRIC By Michael Dugdale,
managing director, Trident
For a growing number of Lancashire businesses, electrifying the company fleet has shifted from a statement of intent to a straightforward financial decision, and the numbers do the talking.
Company car tax remains the headline benefit. A fully electric car attracts a benefit in kind (BIK) rate of just 4 per cent in 2026/27, against 25 per cent or more for petrol and diesel equivalents, and that rate is set to only rise gradually to 9 per cent by the end of the decade. When combined with lower running costs and salary sacrifice arrangements, an EV has become a genuine tool for recruitment and retention, not simply a green gesture.
The wider impact is real, with lower Scope 1 emissions, stronger sustainability credentials when bidding for contracts, and a useful hedge against volatile fuel prices. Increasingly, employees expect the option as well. The direction of travel is clear across the county. For example, Leyland Trucks now builds DAF electric lorries in Lancashire, while Blackpool Transport is switching its buses to electric, proof this shift reaches from the family car to the heaviest fleets.
The challenges deserve honesty. Charging infrastructure, not the vehicles, is where most transitions stumble. Upfront installation costs, grid and site capacity, and reimbursing staff fairly for home and public charging all need careful planning. Policy adds uncertainty, with the government reviewing EV sales targets and grant regimes changing frequently.
If you are considering an EV policy, look beyond the screen price to total cost of ownership, and design charging from the outset rather than as an afterthought. The Workplace Charging Scheme currently funds up to £500 per socket, covering 75 per cent of installation across up to 40 sockets, but it runs only until March 2027.
Above all, treat charging as an energy project, not a car park upgrade. Capacity, tariffs, smart charging and future demand all interact with your wider energy strategy. Get that right, and electrification cuts cost and carbon in equal measure, which is exactly where independent, impartial advice earns its keep.
exclusively EV. Company cars, let’s say 80 per cent plus of those are probably EV. That’s thanks to the benefit-in-kind taxation rules.
“With the van market, it’s been harder. There hasn’t typically been enough range on the electric vans to suit, particularly for small businesses. For your small business, such as a builder’s van or a plumber, particularly if they cover a wide area, that part of it is a bit slower.
“There are more options coming but at the moment we are not seeing those selling particularly strongly to SMEs.
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Date: Friday 27 November 2026 Time: 12.00pm – 5.00pm Venue: Burnley Football Club
• Network with like-minded leaders from businesses of all size and sectors
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