By John Lewis, chief executive, BVLRA

There is a particular slide that is often regurgitated in presentations across the UK, which predicts the market trajectory for EVs, hybrids and hydrogen vehicles over the next 30 years.

It shows full EVs as a niche market for the next decade or so.

The niche they are referring to is probably that environmentally-
focused, urban dwelling group of motorists that will buy an electric vehicle almost regardless of the cost or hassle involved.

But for fleet operators currently rolling out a small batch of Nissan Leafs, Mitsubishi iMiEVs, Peugeot Ions and Citroën C-Zeros, this is not a niche market, it is a test market.

Nissan, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Citroën have done an excellent job in testing these vehicles in laboratories, factories and proving grounds – but now they are about to be put through their paces in the real world.

In the business world the difference between success and failure does not just rest with NCAP ratings, braking distances, 0-60mph times or cubic capacity.

It is about proper, all inclusive, cost of ownership calculations, not Mickey Mouse marketing figures aimed at gullible consumers.

It is about whether a vehicle is up for the job your employee does, not the one that the actor in the TV advert pretends to have.

It is about looks, feels, sounds, smells and other more intangible impressions.

I am confident that electric vehicles will find their role in the road transport mix.

But for this to happen, we need to put them in the right places, doing the right things.

It is about how well we use EVs, not how many of them we use.

There is a dearth of real-world EV information at the moment and it is important that the early feedback is good.

If organisations start shoe-horning them into roles that they aren’t capable of, they will get a bad name and a reputation that could be hard to shift.

Much of this testing will be done by the vehicle rental and leasing industry and its customers over the next few years.

They will be bearing the risks and learning the lessons as all early adopters do.

It’s crunch time.