Are Electric Vehicle Transition Worries Real?
By now most decision-makers know they will need to adopt EV’s into their businesses before too long, 2030 is creeping up, and by 2050 net-zero is the goal.
At the very least a plan of action is needed by 2023 for companies to start to deliver on their need for reduced emissions in time for a rapidly approaching net-zero world.
The problem is, even with an expected £90 billion of government and private investment earmarked by 2030, many businesses still have a real fear of transitioning to EVs.
A recent report released by Centrica (and you can download the report here) states that 60% of businesses cite a lack of public charging infrastructure as a massive barrier to adopting Electric Vehicles.
Is Anyone Even Expanding The Network Of Chargers?
Just like with most things in life, having the right information, or knowing who to talk to, can be the difference between being proactive or burying your head in the sand.
Just take a look at the statistics for EV chargers in the UK, and a great place to see the numbers is at zap-map, which shows almost 30,000 chargers in the UK by 20/2/22.
And while there is certainly room for improvement, improvement is happening, with almost 1000 chargers added in the last 30 days showing real progress. With the expected investment of £15.8 billion in 2022, the potential for infrastructure growth is massive.
One thing that struck me was the statistic that 32.4% of chargers are in the Greater London area, which while great if you're a Londoner, shows there’s still work to be done throughout the rest of the UK.
What would be great to see is community-led activity to increase awareness, build relationships, and push businesses to engage in their local area and help build their own infrastructures.
While researching for this article, I came across a company called Be.EV, an EV charging network across the Greater Manchester area.
What Be.EV is doing is impressive; they’ve seen the need for Manchester to become more EV friendly, and through working with local communities, businesses, and local authorities, are slowly expanding the EV network to make the transition to EV and a greener Manchester.
If you’re a business in the North of England, by the end of 2022 you could be in an area that has over 1000 EV chargers available for your transport network.
But only if you’re aware of it, only if you have the right information or the right people around to help your decision-making processes.
Now imagine every city or region had a similar enterprise, with like-minded businesses, startups, installers, and end-users all collaborating together to build the charger network they need, the possibilities are mind-boggling, and the investment capital is just waiting to be, well, invested.
Make Your Decisions Based On Facts, Not Assumptions
Let me be clear, you won’t read this blog and immediately go and transition your fleet to EV, you’d be mad if you did. The point I’m making is there is the right information out there if you know where to look.
Just like the assumption that there aren’t enough public chargers around, or that there are no grants available, there is often an assumption that transitioning to EV is just too complex, which inevitably leads to the "I'll look into it tomorrow" syndrome.
But the fact is, there are many businesses that have a grasp of the issues, and how you can solve them.
Take Centrica for example, a company that makes sure it understands the pressure points its customers face, and through data-driven analysis, finds solutions to customers' energy needs.
Knowing what a problem is is the first step in solving it, as their report on Business Attitudes to EV 2021 shows, Centrica understands why some businesses want to transition, and why they still haven’t. We’ve already touched on how 60% of businesses worry about public charging infrastructure, and the report also goes on to say that 48% of businesses think a lack of space is holding them back from on-site charging capabilities.
But how many of these companies have actively looked into what’s available? Given that only 28% of mid-sized UK businesses (250-500 employees) have a dedicated person in charge of their fleet management, I bet there are plenty that haven’t.
Many companies (64% of those asked in the Centrica report) also expressed a wish that the government offered funding or subsidies to encourage the transition to EVs, which begs the question, have they even Googled it?
To save you the hassle, have a look here to see what grants may be available for vehicles, or here if you want to look into getting subsidised for installing home chargers at your employees' homes.
As you can see, government grants, and advice, is available, it just appears that a lack of visibility and awareness hinders the whole process, I know what you're thinking; "a lack of government policy visibility and transparency? that's impossible", but there you go, it's true...
If your business is in the Manchester area, and you’d love to transition to EV but haven’t, because “There are no charge points near us” then I suggest a look at Be.EV and maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised about your future options.
The future of EVs may be assured, but businesses are facing changes that some just don’t have the time, the staff, or the information, to be able to deal with effectively.
It’s up to everyone to begin making the adoption of greener transport a reality, and that starts with Googling who, how, when, and where.
You’ll be surprised at just how many great local businesses are leading the way in an industry that is expected to benefit from £15.8 billion of investment in the next 12 months alone.
So why not start your journey with EV today? At the very least, connect with an EV business on Linkedin, start a conversation today! You can even start one with me on Twitter here
Get to it, people!