Northgate AA 28

Over the past two years, Northgate has continued its transformation into a specialist B2B customer-centric LCV mobility provider and has been building the foundations for our own electrification journey, alongside those of its customers.

Neil McCrossan, Northgate Vehicle Hire’s sales and marketing director said: “In line with the Government’s deadline for internal combustion vehicle sales ending in 2030, Northgate has been committed to ensuring that our customers are fully supported by us in advance of this.

“We understand that for businesses, a lack of interruption is key while undergoing any fleet transition, and electrification is no different. We have launched Drive to Zero in order to make this transition as seamless and efficient as possible.”

Drive to Zero comprises five key elements, which together make up the electrification programme designed to ensure a seamless transition of all businesses.

A thorough fleet analysis is the first step in any transition, assessing EV suitability for transition. Through the interrogation of telematics data, Northgate builds a complete understanding of vehicles, their movements, distances travelled and journey times, which gives an understanding of which vehicles can be immediately switched to electric power without issue and which ones will come on-stream as higher range electric LCVs are launched over the coming years by OEMs. They can then offer vehicles on trial to fleets prior to a longer term commitment.

Vehicle choice is key for successful fleet management, and Northgate works closely with OEMs to continually add to an industry-leading range of electric LCVs. From final mile solutions such as the Renault Zoe commercial hatchback, through to mid-sized panel vans such as the latest Peugeot e-Expert, Mercedes Benz e-Vito or even the larger Mercedes Benz e-Sprinter, Northgate offers a leading proposition within its 12 months+ rental option.

As servicing and maintenance remain a key consideration for EVs, Northgate has invested heavily in its workshops and 67-strong branch network, ensuring that trained EV technicians are employed across the country.

In order to aid driver training around best practice for EVs, Northgate has a full suite of EV training modules available to help address challenges and help drivers adopt new driving techniques to optimise EV range.

Free to all its EV customers, the broad suite of learning modules help drivers up-skill with ease on all manner of subjects, from EV driving best practice, to charging, and a host of other ‘how to’ topics in between.

Since the provision of suitable charging infrastructure is a crucial step to ensuring a smooth transition for any business, Northgate works with leading EV charging installation experts, ChargedEV, part of the Redde Northgate plc group, to ensure that whether a customer needs to consider workplace charging, home charging or even public charging facilities, the best possible solution can be found.

It can also help and support with major infrastructure planning which involves working with local energy suppliers to install and futureproof a company’s charging needs.

Finally, Northgate’s team of independent EV fleet specialists are available to help fleets develop and implement robust transition plans, bespoke for each customer.

The proposition is designed to let fleets focus on their core business, while Northgate focuses on running their vehicles.

With rental services and a flexible approach not found with more traditional fleet funding methods, with Northgate, the Drive to Zero is assured to be smooth.

Diesel may still be the primary fuel of choice for operators, but more and more commercial drivers are transitioning to EVs. Indeed, the AA’s fifth annual Operational Report, cocommissioned with Rivus Fleet Solutions, which involved more than 500 operational fleet managers, showed that while 77% of operators deploy diesel across their fleets, only 54% expect to be using the fuel in five years. This finding applied across the fleet mix to both vans and cars. This is a significant drop from the previous year’s Operational Report, which showed 75% of managers expecting to use diesel in the next half-decade, indicating change is on the way.

As petrol and diesel prices soar, we anticipate more and more managers making the switch to alternative fuels ahead of the 2030 deadline. To help fleets prepare for the changes ahead, we have compiled some key mythbusting facts below.

There are still a lot of myths around as we transition to EVs. However, many of these, including range anxiety, can be consigned to the past. Now, fewer than 4% of EVs on the road that break down do so because they have run out of charge, according to recently released AA data. This revealed the proportion of EVs needing rescue due to this issue over the past two years. The data showed a reduction from 8% to less than 4% of breakdowns occurring as a result of running out of charge. Half of those requiring rescue were low on charge, and hadn’t actually run out. Most EVs show an orange warning light when charge levels reach 20%. Other EVs will change your sat nav route to find chargers or put your vehicle in ‘range’ mode. We hope this helps debunk the range anxiety myth – a little forward planning when it comes to charging goes a long way.

At the AA, we’ve just undertaken the ground-breaking GB EV Rally covering 1,200 miles in five days from John O’Groats to Land’s End using both EV cars and vans to demonstrate in the real world the long distances that vans can achieve, even when using only the public charging network.

While the government’s focus may seem to be on car drivers, it recently switched grant funding from consumer to commercial vehicles, after shutting the plug-in car grant scheme. Commercial operators can now access around £300 million in plug-in grants for plug-in taxis, motorbikes, vans, trucks and wheelchairaccessible vehicles. Bear in mind, though, that only vehicles that are government-approved will be eligible.

Not according to our most recent Operational Fleet Insight Report. This revealed that EV drivers prefer the choice of at-work and depot charging. And that’s an option preferred by an overwhelming majority of fleet operators too, at 72%.

Indeed, managers have indicated that they want to sidestep the issue of home charging altogether, with only 13% of fleets saying it’s their preferred EV charging option. Threequarters of fleets feel home charging places too much responsibility on drivers, while 69% of drivers themselves would prefer not to charge their vehicles from home.

Home charging could add future potential benefits and flexibility for fleets, but for the moment, the practicalities of delivering this successfully is an elephant in the room for many.

The operational aspects of developing depot and work-based charging infrastructure take a lot of careful planning though, with operators weighing initial investment and complex depot logistics with long-term impact.

Is at-work charging right for your business? The answer to this question depends on a range of factors, all requiring careful consideration.

Almost one in ten new cars in the UK are bought by or on behalf of disabled drivers. An AA 2021 survey found that 73% of respondents believed charge post spaces should be wheelchair friendly, while 79% felt charge post design should consider users with limited mobility and/or disabilities.

Clearly a B2B as well as a B2C issue, in the past few months, we at the AA have called for greater accessibility of EV charge points. I’m pleased to report that new accessibility standards for EV charging are in progress. The British Standards Institute is working with Motability and the Department for Transport to solve the issue. Wireless charging is thought to be a potential solution to this problem.

Now we’ve tackled some of the obstacles, let’s also review the real positives for fleets considering an alternative fuels transition in this round-up of key business benefits. For example, awareness is growing of the potentially lower service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs of EVs. Our fifth annual Operational Fleet Insight Report backed this up too. Overall, fleet managers believe that EVs, while costly to purchase, are cheaper to run overall, as they have significantly fewer mechanical parts, and therefore carry less potential for any issues to arise. Quite simply, EVs are much less likely to be off the road for repair or maintenance, thus reducing VOR, or vehicle off-road time, significantly.

As stated earlier, commercial operators can now access around £300 million in plug-in grants. The policy reflects the government’s target for every van on UK roads to be electric by 2050.

Driver training should not be forgotten in the switchover to EVs – some drivers will need their hands holding throughout the process. Drivetech, part of the AA, launched EV

Co-Driver in late 2021, a nudge-theory, game-changing initiative geared towards focusing on educating drivers on best practice behind the wheel. EV Co-Driver offers a completely flexible, engaging approach to driver training via a series of immersive animations.

Being left without charge when you drive to a new location is far less likely, thanks to a big increase in available charging points. EV charging point app Zap Map revealed that, at the end of April this year, there were 31,507 charging points across the UK, with more than 1,000 new ones added every month. This is news that is likely to please managers – 32% of Operational Fleet Report respondents cited lack of charging points across the country as a barrier to purchase. Equally, the ‘All Star’ fuel card and app, which allows users access to charging points offered by multiple providers, is growing in popularity. EV-only charging hubs, suitable for both consumer and commercial vehicles, are also starting to creep onto operators’ radars, our research found.

In 2020, The AA started working with Mer, part of the Norwegian company Statkraft, Europe’s largest provider of renewable energy. Mer has introduced EV charging stations into businesses, key retail locations and public areas managed by local authorities in a bid to boost sustainable EV charging in the UK. The AA’s dedicated phone line support provides technical help for the charge point and to the vehicle if the customer needs it, enabling stranded EV drivers to continue their journey as quickly as possible. If drivers experience issues such as starting/ stopping a charge or a stuck cable, they can ring the helpline number on the charger and a member of the dedicated AA team will be there to assist them 24/7. The AA is now working with Mer to trial field support, with the AA’s Fuel Assist technicians being trained to do safe isolation work on a post and provide a fault triage service that involves recommending next steps, including escalating fixes to Mer to assign a trained electrician if needed.

Clearly, a huge amount of progress is taking place on our transition to alternative fuels. Worrying, though, according to our Operational Fleet Report, over a third of fleets (36%) are unaware of the 2030 ban on new diesel and petrol vehicle sales. The government needs to do more to prepare the industry for this seismic shift. At the AA, it’s our role to support fleets transition on the journey ahead. Our focus on continued innovation, while providing marketleading customer service and roadside capability, keeps us forever ahead of the curve. Wherever you are on your journey, remember that we are with you as you travel, every mile of the way.