When Should You Replace Fleet Vehicles With Electric Cars?

The path of progress is mysterious; it can appear so slow as to be imperceptible, then, within the blink of an eye, everything changes. Electric vehicles appear to have reached that sudden shift, driven in no small part by businesses refreshing their fleet.

The most recent new car registration figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) not only feature the highest number of new electric cars since records began, but also mark the tipping point where there are more cars with electric power trains (including conventional hybrids) than petrol or diesel cars.

The biggest driving force of this is the fleet market, which tends to move in waves; with the guidance of expert EV procurement consultants, the wave is increasingly moving in the direction of sustainability, environmental awareness and long-lasting performance.

Data such as this, and the recent electric car grant, may have inspired a lot of companies to start exploring an EV transition of their fleet, but the right time to make that switch will vary from company to company.

With that in mind, here are some of the situations when you should consider making the transition.

When Your Current Fleet Ages Out

Every company with a vehicle fleet or company cars will tend to replace their vehicles on a gradual rolling cycle, with an individual vehicle lasting between five and ten years, depending on the specific needs of the business.

A simple solution for many companies is that when the time runs out for a particular vehicle, simply replace the vehicle with an equivalent EV model.

In many cases, this can be a like-for-like swap; several popular fleet vehicles such as the BMW 5 Series have electric equivalents, whilst there are battery-powered models across every car class available at this point.

This can help avoid disruption and allow you to stick to your budgetary plans.

When The Current Fleet Is Not Worth Running

One of the biggest selling points of EVs is their much lower running costs, but these discussions are often limited to simply talking about fuel costs against charging tariffs, when the reality is that an EV is significantly cheaper to run and requires fewer repairs on average than equivalent petrol or diesel cars.

At some point, the cost of repairs, servicing, taxes, fuel and downtime will reach a point that it makes more financial sense to cut your losses and choose a new vehicle than throw good money after bad.

This takes a disciplined, procedural approach, and it is important to explore transition options with experts in electric vehicles.

When It Is What Your Employees And Drivers Want

Ultimately, one of the best barometers for when you should start your EV transition will be the sentiment of your drivers, both of company cars and of the fleet.

They will be able to inform you of what type of cars they will need going forward, what the minimum performance and feature requirements are and whether EVs are a nice-to-have or a necessity in the near future.

It is increasingly the case that they are driving the replacement of fleet vehicles and may be the catalyst for your company as well.