News analysis
“We have a lot of clients that are still giving free
power, but there are more and more people now charging for power.”
“We’ve seen instances of people providing free power for their employees but not having gated access to their buildings – all of a sudden it’s popping up on Zap-Map or one of the other providers for people to find it, and they’ve got lines of taxis lining up to get the free power. So, they have to be very careful and think further forward.”
Also on the subject of charging, National Grid fleet manager Lorna McAtear said that she did not give any of her drivers a home charger.
She said: “As a corporate you’re into the equity challenge out there – why should I allow one of my job-need drivers to have a charger, because they’ve got a driveway, when I’ve got another one who is living in a block of flats? We just make sure we’ve got the ability to cover those costs when they’re out.”
On the wider topic of fleet electrification, McAtear said the industry had now entered the mass adoption phase. She explained: “We’ve moved on from the early adopters, from those that are willing to put up with ‘That bit of software didn’t quite work there’ or ‘There’s a bit of a queue here’ or ‘The charger’s not working, I’ll deal with it’ – we’re moving into mass market.
“And when you move into mass market with company car drivers, you need to do everything for them. You need it to be easy, you need it to be low-cost, and you need to take all the pain away, because they just want to get in a vehicle and drive.”
Fleet consultant Jon Burdekin added that fleet managers had a serious responsibility to make sure that drivers moving into EVs were properly prepared for them, warning of potentially severe consequences otherwise.
He said: “There is a need for the fleet manager to educate their drivers, starting off with probably a duty of care element, which is if you are just going to throw the keys at your driver and say ‘There you go, there’s your new Cupra Born’, you’re not telling them about the huge amount of power under their right foot that they might not be used to. “You’re not telling them they’re virtually silent at low speeds. You’re not telling them there’s another way to slow the car down without using the brake pedal, and you’re not telling them the tyre pressures might need to be higher than they previously imagined. I think that’s bordering on reckless as a fleet manager.”
In this issue
Are you driving your own personal car for work? Or are you a company owner, whose employees who use vehicles for their work not owned by your business? Well, if you answered ‘yes’ to either of these questions, then you’re not alone. According to a recent survey by Europcar of 500 fleet/office/facilities/ general managers and business travel managers, amongst others, they found that over 80% of those surveyed said their staff used personal vehicles for work, with more than 60% claiming their organisation’s grey fleet usage had increased since Covid.
Considering the fact that home and hybrid working looks to be here to stay, recent official figures from the Office for National Statistics, showed that 12% of adults worked from home at some point in the previous seven days, this is not surprising. Although commuting to the office has never been a company’s responsibility, a mostly home-based employee occasionally driving their car to the office is! So, it seems Grey Fleet is a problem again for businesses. If that is your position, I’d suggest you flick to P24 and read Jack’s feature. On top of explaining how we’ve got to this point, he looks at how it can and should be managed with an eye on sustainability.
Elsewhere, we’ve got an ‘In Focus’ feature on JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions and I interviewed BYD Europe’s head of corporate sales and used cars, Eris Yahsi, on how the new Chinese EV brand will sell to the UK fleet. We’ve also got a bit of an exclusive, as we’ve had a brief drive in what will probably be their next new model for the UK – the Dolphin. We’re already in May and the 2023 Business Car Awards are coming around quickly, so to encourage you to enter, we’ve got a full rundown of this year’s supporters.
Enjoy the issue
Martyn Collins Business Car Editor
www.businesscar.co.uk | May 2023 | 5
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