- UK leads Europe in EV transition readiness despite weak incentives
- Geotab report: 66% of UK vehicles suitable for EVs
- Fleet EV adoption surpasses private purchases; cost savings significant
Britain is more amenable to the transition to electric vehicles than any of our European counterparts.
According to a new report analyzing the ease with which various nations could transition to EVs in light of their current transportation habits, this is the case.
According to an analysis by transport solutions company Geotab, two-thirds of cars and vans presently in use by private owners and public sector organizations in the United Kingdom are easily replaceable with electric vehicles. This would result in cost savings for both businesses and drivers.
This is the case even though the United Kingdom offers some of the weakest EV incentives among European competitors and significant concerns regarding the transition to battery vehicles have caused a demand decline in recent months.
Over a year, the ‘Taking Charge: On the Road to an EV Future’ report analyzed driver data from 1.3 million automobiles and vans in seven countries.
The study determined that 66% of vehicles presently in operation in the United Kingdom are “EV suitable” according to two metrics; this meant that they were readily interchangeable with electric vehicles, not that the vehicles themselves could be converted into EVs.
The initial metric computed whether the average daily driving distances documented by drivers could be traversed by currently available electric vehicles (EVs) using their current ranges as a guide.
It was determined that for an electric vehicle to be considered range-competent, it must have the capacity to operate for 98% of the time each year on a solitary charge.
The second metric assessed whether transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) could result in long-term cost savings for businesses.
The study concluded that companies could achieve an average cost reduction of £13,279 per vehicle over a seven-year replacement cycle, which corresponds to a savings of £876,414 for a fleet of 100 vehicles.
The figure would increase to 73%, according to Geotabs, if the replacement cycle were extended to ten years, by the longer lifespan of electric vehicles (EVs) compared to their petrol and diesel counterparts due to service, maintenance, and repair (SMR) savings.
Canada (50%), Spain (43%), the United States (38%), Germany (35%), Italy (28%), and France (20%) all fell short of the United Kingdom’s 66% score.
The United Kingdom is the ideal market for fleets to transition to electric vehicles (EVs), according to sales data for 2024 thus far indicating that fleet EV adoption significantly exceeds private EV purchases, while private EV sales have stalled.
In contrast to the rest of the market, electric vehicle (EV) registrations increased by 21.8 percent to a total of 14,991, according to SMMT data. This represents 17.7% of the total number of registrations, which is marginally higher than the 16.5% proportion from the previous year.
Private purchasers comprise less than one-fifth (18.2%) of newly registered electric vehicles in 2024.
In addition to financial and logistical advantages, Geotab determined that fleets could save 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually by replacing conventional vehicles with electric vehicles.
More than 19 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions could be prevented over the next seven years.
The United Kingdom generated 427 MtCO2e (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2021, a 5% increase from 2020, according to data from the Department of Transport.
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The transport sector, which generated 109 MtCO2e or 26% of the total emissions that year, was the largest emitter. Road vehicles were responsible for approximately 91% of domestic transportation emissions, or 100 MtCO2e.
According to available data, the Earth is presently approximately 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to increase.
By the Paris Agreement, the United Nations has mandated that emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Vice President for the United Kingdom and Ireland at Geotab, David Savage, stated, “It is a fallacy to believe that the United Kingdom is not prepared for widespread EV adoption.”
Conversely, it is imperative that British enterprises “double down” on fleet electrification; doing so is not only beneficial for our collective climate objectives and the environment but also for their financial success.
“Two-sensational CEOs of companies that operate vehicle fleets could pay for themselves by converting to electric vehicles due to the cost savings associated with EVs.”
