Electric vehicles (EVs) run differently to those powered by petrol and diesel.
They have no need for gears, so put the pedal to the metal and you’ll be using the motor’s full power – that level of torque can be surprising for new EV drivers. Brake in the right way and you can reduce the amount of energy used. For all the technology in EVs, the most vital component is always going to be the driver, and this is especially the case when businesses are using EVs.
While many companies will keep their EV fleets on site, a large portion of them will either be letting employees keep their work vehicles at home or giving them company cars. Either way, an employee’s home suddenly becomes relevant for businesses.
The government’s Housing Survey found that 60% of homes (around 14.4 million) had some parking on their plot, such as a driveway or garage, but 26% had no provision for off-street parking. That will make things difficult for EV drivers who rely on overnight plug-in charging, either through a wall socket or a specialised EV charger, to charge vehicles cheaply and conveniently. Another government study has shown that 6.2 million houses in the UK are going to need some sort of on-street charging solution such as charging points installed in lampposts (10,000 of which are available already).
Could ultra-rapid charging solve home charging shortages?
Home charging has largely been adopted since public EV charging stations could take hours to recharge vehicles, which obviously isn’t always convenient for those on the move. Drivers often find it is far easier to plug their vehicles in overnight and avoid charging from public changepoints completely – imagine never having to go to a petrol station again.
The number of ultra-rapid charging points is growing rapidly, with 40% more available at the end of 2022 than at the end of 2021. The very fastest can recharge a 70kWh battery in under 30 minutes, and the common 100kWh variety in less than an hour. Assuming that your EV drivers are only driving short distances – a manager going to and from the office and occasionally travelling, a repair van going to four or five appointments around a city – then you won’t need to charge daily with a mid-sized EV battery.
Instead of topping up from 95% to 100% every night, your drivers could top up from an ultra-fast charger once or twice per week. Vehicles that will be making longer and more frequent journeys will likely be charging from public chargepoints anyway, so their operation won’t have to change.
Easier and convenient charging for EV fleets?
For a long time, the adoption of EVs has been slowed by two factors: a lack of range and a lack of public charging points. Batteries can be as large as 200kWh today, 118 for a passenger car, and are only going to get bigger and more efficient. Charging points are also growing rapidly – by July of 2022 there were 54,000 public connectors in the UK, not counting home or business chargers, compared to 8,378 petrol stations. Of course, it takes longer to recharge/refuel a vehicle from a charger than a fuel pump, even with the fastest chargers, but given the growth of EV charging and how the slower chargers will begin to be replaced with ultra-fast chargers, it is getting easier and more convenient to find fast charging across the UK.
This will mean that the problems caused by the inability of some homes to have EV charging points installed won’t be problems for long. If an employee for whatever reason can’t have an EV charger in their home, then they can simply use public EV chargers providing that they are plentiful, affordable and reliable, which becomes more the case every day.
To learn more, download our new whitepaper 6 Steps to an Electric Fleet: What to consider in the transition to EVs or for all the latest EV news and insights, please visit our Allstar EV Insights.
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