EV adoption smoother than expected

Research by AX has revealed that fleets switching to electric vehicle have found the transition easier than anticipated.

It revealed that the fleet managers of businesses yet to start their EV transition were expecting significant disruption to vehicle incident management processes as a result of electrification. However, those who had already begun the process of EV adoption said they had experienced less of an effect.

Investigating further, its Fleet EV Adoption 2022 white paper found that over half (51.9%) of non-EV fleet managers said that they anticipated an increase in vehicle downtime due to accidents with the introduction of EVs into their fleet. In contrast, just 24.2% of EV fleet managers said that they had realised that increase.

In addition, the study also showed that 44.2% of non-EV fleet managers expected an increase in cost of maintenance. However, only 20.2% of fleet managers that had already started EV uptake said the cost of maintenance had risen.

Scott Hamilton-Cooper, managing director of AX Automotive, said: “According to our survey, businesses that are yet to electrify their fleets are noticeably nervous about implementing changes. Despite the accelerated rate of EV uptake, there are still myths perpetuating that are hampering its progress – as our report suggests.

“There is clearly a significant discrepancy between the expectation and reality of electrification. Yet, the discrepancy we have identified in our white paper suggests that if businesses are fully informed of how the switch to electric is likely to affect them, then their EV transition journey will be smoother than anticipated.”