When the Government announced in September 2023 that it was going to delay banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans for five years to 2035, it was met with mixed feelings in the Fleet community. Whilst billed as a U-turn on its climate commitments by the pro-environment lobby, it brings the UK out of line with the EU’s & OEM’s plans. Industry Fleet commentators suggested that while there was relief in some quarters and some might be pleased about the delay, the majority of vehicle fleet operators would be disappointed at the decision.
Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) said that the Government should provide more support and ‘not move the goalposts.’ While Mr Hollick acknowledged that ‘serious operational issues’ needed to be tackled, especially when it came to electric vans, the overwhelming feeling within his membership was probably one of ‘irritation’.
What is interesting about the Prime Minister’s bombshell is the consequences it has had on Fleet Managers looking to transition to an electric fleet. When BEDEO sought the views of 200 named operators of major fleets in the UK and France in early September to see what was preventing them from making the switch, the original deadline was quoted as a contributing factor. Two out of five (40%) said that 2030 ‘was still a long way off’, meaning some would understandably use this as a reason to kick the decision down the road. Given the research was conducted before Mr Sunak’s announcement, that road has suddenly become much longer!
Delay could lead to unintended consequences. Many of the European OEMs are proceeding with the original plan in line with the rest of the European Union and this could put UK customers at risk of being deprioritised for production allocation as we get closer to the deadline.
This is not scaremongering for there is precedent; it is precisely what happened when the Department for Transport delayed the adoption of EU6 Step E emissions standards subsequently launching a consultation Updating GB Type Approval for Road Vehicles which was published in October this year. While the EU stayed firm on the deadline, insisting all Step D vehicles be registered by the end of 2022, the unintended consequences of the DFT decision were that some UK fleet customers who had ordered step d vehicles saw their builds pushed back by OEMs. This was to prioritise European orders to ensure these vehicles met the EU deadline leading to delivery delays of many months for some UK fleets, even in some cases having their step D orders cancelled only to be faced with having to re-order step E vehicles at a higher price.
The lack of urgency to make a change and policy delays are not of course the only reasons. Of fleet operators who were considering new vehicles, more than half (51%) were concerned that the lack of available range with new electric vans would negatively impact operations, and two out of five (40%) said that electric vans were simply too expensive. A similar number (35%) said that even if they were inclined to buy new, the product range was currently too limited.
This is precisely where retrofitting can fit in, in giving businesses a cost-effective solution that accelerates their journey towards decarbonisation without having to bear all the cost. BEDEO recently launched the RE-100 – an advanced retrofit solution which fits to existing diesel vans to make them both electric (first) and/or diesel at the touch of a button.
Widely popular and financially supported by public authorities in France but not in the UK, retrofitting adds an electric powertrain to the existing diesel without replacing it, adding a further 70+ miles of electric driving to its range (anything up to 600 miles+) and without compromising load space. It overcomes, in a stroke, a Fleet Manager’s principal barriers to ‘going electric’. It gives them an immediate opportunity to decarbonise, without the full cost of having to buy new electric vans while their existing diesel vans still have plenty of life left in them.
BEDEO’s RE-100 adds an electric drivetrain to an existing diesel van by way of an in-wheel motor and battery system, addresses fleet managers’ current concerns regarding range, affordability and sustainability, and doesn’t mean replacing a vehicle with a typical 10 – 15-year lifespan. To that end we need Government action.
BEDEO research shows that fleet managers might be more inclined to consider a retrofit solution if there was greater awareness of the solution, and that’s where Government can play its part through incentives: more than half (54%) of respondents had little or even no knowledge of retrofitting, despite the huge benefits it can bring. Awareness levels are much higher in France (65%), where the French Government offers a €9,000 retrofit subsidy; no such subsidy is available in the UK, and that is something that needs to change.