The EV Café have revealed their top tips and advice for fleet managers to help them overcome the challenges associated with transitioning to an electric fleet.

Making the business case for EVs, financial incentives such as benefit in kind (BIK) tax, total cost of ownership (TCO), charging infrastructure and the EV skilled workforce – were some of the subjects covered by the expert team of industry leaders in their conversational clinic at Fleet & Mobility Live 2021.

Delegates had the chance to put their burning EV-related questions to the EV Café during their interactive seminar, where the team were on-hand to provide tips, advice, and case study examples from their own experiences.

The session was held by members Jonny Berry, head of decarbonisation at Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, Paul Kirby, electric van expert and consultant at EV Essentials, Sara Sloman, head of future mobility partnerships at Elmtronics, Sam Clarke, chief vehicle officer at Gridserve Sustainable Energy and John Curtis, presenter, and Go Ultra Low Ambassador.

Clarke said: “The maths needs to be shown and disseminated so we can appreciate how much money EVs can save.”

“In terms of building your case for EVs, the numbers are: you can save 23p for every mile you drive, if you drive an EV – just from the fuel costs alone,” Curtis added.

Berry said: “An EV has fewer moving parts than ICE vehicle, therefore it would be around 33% cheaper to maintain.

“There’s less downtime associated with EVs as they require less SMR work.”

Sloman added: “It’s about looking at your fleet and seeing what vehicles can be swapped for an EV and if those vehicles could be utilised in another way, or how your staff travel – engagement in staff is key.

"EVs are fun to drive, and once you've had the opportunity to drive one, you'll find a lot less resistance in your teams when you tell them changes are coming."

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