fleetcare

[fleetcare]

What’s required to transition to electric vehicles?

Adding an electric vehicle (or two) to your fleet five years ago was easy. All you needed to do was purchase the vehicle and arrange for the installation of one charging station. For most organisations it was only a trial and no one was thinking about how to transition their entire fleet.

In 2023, the world has changed. Government agencies and publicly listed companies are in the spotlight for the emissions they generate, and transport is one of the major contributors to CO2. Fleet Managers can still trial EVs, though it needs to be part of a plan to transition the entire fleet to zero emission vehicles within five or ten years.

When purchasing twenty or more electric vehicles for various applications with the charging infrastructure to support to them, it will stretch the capability and capacity of the team responsible for running the traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) fleet. The fleet team will need to update their skills and knowledge and adapt to a new era of fleet management.

Where to start?

If you’re in the fleet team and feeling overwhelmed by an impending EV transition, the best place to start is with drivers and leaders within your business that are EV enthusiasts. These internal champions will be happy to join the project and work through the challenges. They’ll see the issues as opportunities and encourage other staff to get involved.

You can also lean on suppliers and business partners for tips and advice. Every fleet that has started the transition to electric vehicles has made mistakes and most are happy to share what they have learnt to help other organisations through the transition.

Don’t underestimate the challenge

Converting a fleet to zero or low emissions vehicles (ZLEV) is a massive project that will touch all parts of the business requiring several hard conversations about capital and operational budgets, fleet optimisation and sustainability targets.

With the replacement of an ICE vehicle, the fleet team will decide on the vehicle, confirm the requirements with operations and raise a purchase order for an established supplier. Once the vehicle is delivered, a fuel card is issued and that’s it for another five years.

Starting an EV transition reverses this process and may paralyse some organisations as the number of stakeholders being consulted grows with each new step.

Here’s some of helpful steps to purchase your first electric vehicle:

Develop a sustainability plan that includes a target to reduce fleet emissions.

Conduct an analysis of your fleet to identify which vehicles can be replaced with electric vehicles.

Decide on a process for charging vehicles: Onsite at the workplace; Journey — charging on the go using a network similar to a fuel card’s at the workplace; At the employee’s home.

Update fleet policies to reflect the new sustainability plan to include things like: When and how to charge the vehicle; The impacts of the FBT exemption and information on Reportable FBT; Eco driving tips and how to use regenerative braking.

Communicate the sustainability plan and new fleet policy to all staff.

Implement staff education and EV awareness programs.

Place the order for the new electric vehicle.

Not everyone is ready

Developing a transition plan doesn’t require you to purchase electric vehicles in 2023. It’s a starting point that can be adapted and updated to suit the needs of the organisation and changes in technology.

After conducting some initial investigations and analysis, the plan might involve purchasing hybrids or reducing the fleet size. It might involve installing solar panels on buildings to support onsite EV charging in five years. For fleets with light commercials and trucks, there may be no viable options available in the market, so the plan is to sit tight for a few years.

Unless the organisation wants to be an early adopter with zero emission vehicles, a plan may be all a Fleet Manager needs at this early stage of the EV transition.

[fleetcare]

Tesla going from strength to strength in Australia

If you think you’ve been seeing a lot of Teslas on the road lately, well you’re not wrong. The innovative electric carmaker created quite a stir in January this year when its Model 3 claimed third place on the Australian sales rankings with 2,927 sales.

That’s still some way short of the market leader, the Ford Ranger’s 4,749, but it’s a remarkable achievement for an electric sedan with a price tag north of $60,000. And the model 3 is not the only Tesla occupying a space in the top 10, because its new Model Y also held down ninth place with 3,313 sales.

However, some of those strong sales numbers are undoubtedly due to shipping delays that saw deliveries due in 2022 delayed until January 2023. Nevertheless, Tesla is on a roll in the Australian market, a testament to the rising popularity of electric vehicles and Tesla’s investment in its extensive charging infrastructure.

Clearly the American company’s strong brand image, innovative technology and commitment to sustainability is striking a chord with an increasing number of Australian car buyers. For now, it remains the only electric vehicle maker among the top 10 selling vehicles in an Australian market dominated by SUVs and utes.

Electric vehicle sales are on the rise in Australia, making up 5.7 per cent of the new vehicle market, or 4,852 sales in January. Within the market for electric vehicles right now there’s daylight between Tesla and the rest. January’s combined sales of Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y — 3,313, dwarfs third place finisher the BYD Atto 3’s 267 sales.

If there’s one thing holding back electric vehicle sales it’s still price, with even the cheapest models, like the BYD Atto 3 still around double the price of a comparable internal combustion vehicle.

Given Tesla’s market dominance, the thought of the sales figures it could achieve with a truly affordable model is enough to have the CEOs of other carmakers muttering dark curses into their whisky glasses everywhere. And the bad news for them is that Tesla has one in the pipeline. Its intention is to produce a small car at approximately half the price of its Model 3 or Model Y.

“It will, I think… certainly exceed the production of all our other vehicles combined,” Elon Musk said.

That’s an exciting prospect for many would be EV owners, but even by Elon Musk’s own admission, its development is a long way off.

At any rate, Tesla won’t have the market to itself because the price of electric vehicles is coming down with a number of Chinese carmakers jostling for the market. But if you’re in the market for an EV then that higher purchase price really shouldn’t put you off, because the Australian Government has just come up with a raft of tax measures to make obtaining an EV through a money-saving novated lease a LOT cheaper than you might have thought.

Right now Fleetcare is offering novated leases on electric vehiclesat weekly rates that are guaranteed to surprise you. So whether it’s the top selling Tesla Model 3, the stylish Polestar 2, the fun BYS Atto 3, or the long range on offer from the Hyundai Kona Elite Electric, you’re sure to find a novated deal on an electric vehicle that perfectly matches your needs here at Fleetcare.