AUTUMN 2025 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 26
EV & EV CHARGING
Europcar investigates barriers
to electric van adoption
Rental helps businesses get past the cost barrier and experience real-world electric driving
New research commissioned
by Europcar has uncovered the
challenges that are holding the
van sector back from keeping up
with decarbonisation seen in the
car sector in the UK. The results
are published in a white paper,
‘Van electri昀椀cation: understanding
barriers, identifying solutions’
which answers the critical
question: ‘why is van
electri昀椀cation progressing so
slowly?’ and shares how rental
could hold the key to accelerating
adoption.
61% of the 昀氀eet operators
who took part in the research are
already using e-vans, and 45% of
those said they face challenges
with the real-world range of the
vans on 昀氀eet, while 33% are
concerned that public charging
26
is unsuitable for vans. Of the
39% of operators who do not yet
have e-vans on 昀氀eet, 38% said
this was because they do not
consider electric vans to be 昀椀t for
purpose and 15% put it down to
cost. 46% said they would add
e-vans to their 昀氀eet if they had a
longer range.
With input from the BVRLA
and The EV Café, as well as realworld examples of companies
already seeing the bene昀椀ts of
electric vans, the whitepaper
highlights the perceived and
real-world challenges faced by
昀氀eet operators when it comes
to van electri昀椀cation. The report
investigates where electric vans
are working well and explores
how a co-ordinated effort among
government and all stakeholders
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT AND
ANDPUBLIC
PUBLICSECTOR
SECTORJOURNAL
JOURNAL AUTUMN
AUTUMN 2017
2025
is required to encourage more
van 昀氀eet operators to make the
switch.
“Vans are lagging behind cars
when it comes to electri昀椀cation,”
commented Keith Shorter,
Director, Europcar Vans and
Trucks. “One reason for this is
the demands that their size and
weight put on battery range,
making progress to longer range
vehicle options much slower for
vans than cars. Our research
con昀椀rmed that range anxiety
is holding back a considerable
proportion of would-be electric
昀氀eets. However, cost, charging
infrastructure and lack of
knowledge also play a part.
“To encourage accelerated
take-up of electric vans, we need
the government to continue
offering 昀椀nancial incentives, to
see that improvements are made
to ensure the existing and future
charging infrastructure is suitable
for vans and that amendments
are made regarding regulations
that impact electric vans. In the
meantime, renting an electric
van allows 昀氀eets to 昀椀nd out
how zero emissions vehicles
can work their business, with no
risk and minimal commitment.
Test drives from manufacturers
and dealers are too short to be
reassuring in terms of range, but
rental can provide drivers with
the opportunity to test e-vans in a
real-world working environment.”
To download the white paper:
https://heyzine.com/昀氀ipbook/6672a25ebb.html
