GreenFleet 107

ALTERNATIVE FUELS

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

www.greenfleet.net

TEST CITROËN BERLINGO EV

ISSUE 107

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS

PUBLIC SECTOR FLEET SPECIAL Air quality improvements, grey fleet management and procurement

EMISSIONS TESTING

8

GreenFleet Arrive’n’Drive takes place on 28 September.

Read the preview on page 48

ON-THE-ROAD EMISSIONS TESTING The WLTP promises more realistic emissions and fuel economy performance data. So what’s changed from the previous test?

ROAD TEST FIAT TIPO LOUNGE 1.6 MULTIJET 120

7

NEW INSIGNIA

THIS IS NOT A CAR. THIS IS YOUR COMPLETE PACKAGE.

P11D FROM £16,930

BiK FROM 23% | CO2 FROM 105G/KM | UP TO 70.6MPG New Insignia Grand Sport combines intelligent technology with impressively low Whole Life Costs and Benefit-in-Kind tax savings. It’s the ultimate blend of efficiency, safety and connectivity that makes New Insignia Grand Sport the perfect business choice.

Isn’t life brilliant.

Book your New Insignia 3 Day Test Drive.

Visit vauxhallfleet.co.uk/newinsigniatestdrive Fuel consumption information is official government environmental data, tested in accordance with the relevant EU directive. New Insignia Grand Sport range fuel consumption figures mpg (litres/100km): Urban: 25.2 (11.2)-61.4 (4.6), Extra-urban: 39.8 (7.1)-78.5 (3.6), Combined: 32.8 (8.6)-70.6 (4.0). CO2 emissions: 197-105g/km.

Official EU-regulated test data are provided for comparison purposes and actual performance will depend on driving style, road conditions and other non-technical factors. 2017/18 tax year.

General Motors UK Limited, trading as Vauxhall Motors, does not offer tax advice and recommends that all Company Car Drivers consult their own accountant with regards to their own tax position. New Insignia Elite Nav 2.0 (260PS) Turbo 4X4 auto model illustrated (P11D of £27,155) features Darkmoon Blue two-coat premium paint (£655), VXR Styling Pack (£850) and Driving Assistance Pack Four (£595), optional at extra cost. 3 Day Test Drive terms and conditions apply and vehicles are subject to availability. Please call 0330 587 8221 for full details. Includes 12 months of OnStar services from date of first registration and a 3 month/3 GB Wi-Fi free trial period (whichever comes first) effective from the date the customer accepts the nominated network operator Wi-Fi Ts&Cs. OnStar services and 4G Wi-Fi Hotspot are subject to mobile network coverage and availability. OnStar services require activation and account with OnStar Europe Ltd. Wi-Fi Hotspot service requires account with OnStar Europe Ltd. and nominated network operator. Charges apply after free trial period. The OnStar subscription packages could be different from the services included in the free trial package. Terms and conditions apply. Check vauxhall.co.uk/OnStar for details of availability, coverage and charges. Vehicles purchased without OnStar cannot have the required technology retro-fitted. Destination download only available on vehicles with factory installed navigation systems. All figures quoted correct at time of going to press (September 2017).

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

www.greenfleet.net

TEST CITROËN BERLINGO EV

Used-diesel car values drop

ISSUE 107

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS

PUBLIC SECTOR FLEET SPECIAL Air quality improvements, grey fleet management and procurement

8

7

GreenFleet Arrive’n’Drive takes place on 28 September.

Read the preview on page 48

EMISSIONS TESTING

ON-THE-ROAD EMISSIONS TESTING The WLTP promises more realistic emissions and fuel economy performance data. So what’s changed from the previous test?

ROAD TEST FIAT TIPO LOUNGE 1.6 MULTIJET 120

Visit t.tv nflee video e e r g e v ti a rm for info tent on t con tal flee nmen enviro agement man

Comment

ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @GreenFleetNews

Recent announcements signalling the end of diesel vehicles – such as the government’s aim to ban the sale of new purely diesel (and petrol) vehicles from 2040, and the flurry of diesel scrappage schemes from car manufacturers – is already having a negative effect on the value of used-diesels.

8

Data from car buying comparison website motorway.co.uk has shown a decline in the value of popular diesel cars, with average values down 5.7 per cent in Q3 2017 compared to Q1 2017. Valuations for some of the UK’s most popular diesel models are down by as much as 26 per cent. Petrol cars, on the other hand, have gone up by five per cent.

7

GreenFleet Arrive’n’Drive takes place on 28 September.

Read the preview on page 48

Falling residual values of diesels could have a major impact on fleets that have out-right purchased their vehicles. Have you any thoughts on how this will effect your fleet? Email us at editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk Meanwhile, the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) has now come into effect and promises more realistic emissions and fuel economy performance data. See our explanation of the WLTP on page 15.

This issue of GreenFleet also has a Public Sector Focus, sponsored by FCA Group.

We look at how councils are dealing with air quality improvements, how the public sector can tackle its grey fleet, as well as procurement best practice.

Angela Pisanu, editor

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE-TO-FACE If you would like to receive 10 issues of GreenFleet magazine for £200 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 GreenFleet® would like to thank the following organisations for their support:

PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Angela Pisanu FEATURES AND ROAD TEST EDITOR Richard Gooding EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Andrea Pluck PRODUCTION CONTROL Ella Sawtell PRODUCTION DESIGN Jo Golding WEB PRODUCTION Victoria Casey PUBLISHER George Petrou ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kylie Glover, Dean Cassar ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

Printed on recycled paper

© 2017 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 2399-4940

GreenFleet is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact Michael Lyons or Angela Pisanu on 0208 532 0055. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

3

Contents

Contents GreenFleet 107 07 News

Scotland plans to phase out petrol and diesel by 2032; every future European Honda model to feature electric capabilities; China to phase out petrol and diesel cars

15 Emissions testing 15 25

The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) has now come into effect and promises more realistic emissions and fuel economy performance data. So what’s changed?

21 Alternative fuels

With emissions from HGVs having risen over the past five years, significant improvements in air quality can be achieved by focusing on LGVs, buses, and HGVs. But with electrification not an option for such large vehicles, what other greener fuels can be sourced?

25 Commercial vehicles Platooning trials funded by the government will see three partially‑autonomous lorries travel in a convoy on UK motorways.

GreenFleet finds out what the environmental benefits will be

40

30 Panel of experts: leasing 45

Making sense of the vast amount of data produced from telematics can often be daunting, resulting in opportunities being missed and actions not being taken.

Our expert panelists share their advice on how to make sure valuable fleet information is not getting lost

In association with

35 PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS 40 Air quality

51

The government has released its strategy on how to tackle high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the UK, a pollutant that causes harm to public health. In order to get results, local authorities are being asked to produce plans by the end of the year on how they intend to bring NO2 levels down

GreenFleet magazine

42 Grey fleets

It is estimated that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles are driven in the public sector each year, at a cost of £786 million. The Energy Saving Trust’s Andrew Benfield shares some steps to a better grey fleet

44 CCS Frameworks

The Crown Commercial Service’s Kim Harrison discusses the organisation’s recently launched Dynamic Purchasing System, which enables public sector fleet managers and buyers to access a wide range of vehicle conversion services

45 YPO Frameworks

Running a mini competition during a tendering process can be a good way to successfully match your contract requirements with a supplier.

David Nichols from public sector buying organisation YPO shares his tops tips on how to make this a success

48 GreenFleet Arrive ‘n’ Drive

On 28 September, GreenFleet Arrive ‘n’ Drive will be setting up at Rockingham Motor Speedway. The event will showcase the latest in zero and ultra‑low emission vehicles and technology, encouraging fleets to “go ultra-low”

50 GreenFleet Dundee

GreenFleet hosted an event at Caird Hall in Dundee on 17 August, in association with Dundee City Council, to allow fleet and transport managers from the area to hear the latest on lowering emissions from their fleets and within the city

51 Road test: Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 Multijet 120

Good value, spacious, economical, and with low emissions, Richard Gooding finds that Fiat’s latest Tipo plays a strong fleet‑friendly hand

53 First drive: Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX

Recently revised, the Citroën Berlingo Electric now offers more to LCV operators, including cost savings, as well as a larger L2 variant

www.greenfleet.net Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

5

News

ELECTRIC VEHICLES POLICY

Scotland plans to phase out petrol and diesel by 2032 The Scottish government is planning to phase out the need for petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032 by taking a range of actions.

These include expanding the charging network and making the A9 Scotland’s first electric-enabled highway.

A fund of £60 million will be made available to accelerate innovation in new technologies, including low carbon and digital projects.

It will support the development of low carbon energy infrastructure, such as electricity battery storage, sustainable heating systems and electric vehicle charging.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: “I want us to be world

leaders in developing new low carbon energy technologies and embrace social changes that will reduce our emissions.

“We have set out a bold new ambition on ultra-low emission vehicles, including electric cars and vans, with a target to phase out the need for petrol and diesel vehicles by 2032, underpinned by a range of actions to expand the charging network, support innovative approaches and encourage the public sector to lead the way.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ydgl6cya

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Honda reveals Urban EV Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show Honda has unveiled an all-new urban electric vehicle concept at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, with future production scheduled for 2019.

The concept car is built on a completely new platform, and sets the direction for the technology and design that will appear on a future battery electric Honda production model.

The Urban EV Concept features an electric charging cable connection on the bonnet and its main dashboard screen presents a range of vehicle information including remaining battery level.

Alongside the EV concept is Honda’s Power Manager Concept, which is a

London EV Company (LEVC), formerly the London Taxi Company, has premiered its all-new electric TX six-seater taxi at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2017.

Revealed in Germany’s famous ‘taxi beige’ colour for the first time, the TX is an addition to the visionary New Mobility World at the Frankfurt International Auto Show.

The all-new electric zero-emissions-capable TX showcases its eCity technology for the first time, comprising an advanced battery electric powertrain with a small petrol generator.

Applied to the TX, the technology allows for a range of around 400 miles including well over 70 miles range with zero emissions for inner city operations where noise and air pollution is most acute. eCity technology is purposefully designed for commercial operators that face demanding and unpredictable duty cycles, require complete range assurance, and demand zero-emissions capability to meet the clean air challenges of urban centres while also reducing fuel costs for operators.

In addition, the TX has a range of accessibility features including side access and forward facing wheelchair capability.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ycg66uub

INFRASTRUCTURE smart system that can store energy more efficiently, releasing electricity generated by renewable sources back into the home or selling it back to the grid.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yaxq3xgo

AIR QUALITY

China to phase out petrol and diesel cars China is considering to ban the production of petrol and diesel cars in favour of electric vehicles.

The move is part of aims to reduce pollution in Beijing, similar to France and Britain’s plan to outlaw the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2040.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, told a forum in the northern city of Tianjin

LEVC reveals new electric TX six-seater taxi at Frankfurt

that his ministry had started “relevant research” and was working on a timetable for China.

The Guardian states that Xin said the policy would be implemented “in the near future”, according to official Xinhua news agency.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yayvnotp

Wolverhampton to make taxi charge points accessible to public New electric charging points specifically for taxis in the City of Wolverhampton are soon to be made accessible to the public.

The city of Wolverhampton Council was awarded £478,000 government funding in March to help fulfil a long term plan to grow the number of electric taxis in the city.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) has since confirmed the electric charging network can also be made available for public use.

The funds mean that work can start in the city to build the infrastructure.

Twenty-four charging points will be installed over the next three years, with the aid of match funding from a private sector partner.

READ MORE bit.ly/2w8UUuk

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

7

www.volkswagen.co.uk

The new Golf.

With intelligent driver assists.

The futuristic new Golf is packed with intelligent driver assist technology, such as Traffic Jam Assist and Emergency Assist.

This helps you stay in control of the busy road ahead, before you contend with the busy day ahead.

We make the future real.

The new Golf from £17,765 RRP. Model shown £27,950 RRP with optional metallic paint, 18” Jurva alloy wheels and LED headlights. Standard EU Test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results.

Official fuel consumption figures for the new model range in mpg (litres/100km): urban 29.4 (9.6) – 68.9 (4.1); extra urban 44.8 (6.3) – 74.3 (3.8); combined 37.6 (7.5) – 72.4 (3.9). Combined CO2 emissions 102 – 180/km.

News

TAXIS

LowCVP’s Andy Eastlake

Uber drivers to be banned from using non‑hybrid or electric vehicles From 2020, Uber drivers in London will be banned from using vehicles that are not a hybrid or fully electric.

According to The Guardian, this is part of plans to tackle illegal levels of air pollution in the capital.

Diesel-powered cars on the app’s other services, such as UberXL for larger cars, will also be banned from 2020 in the capital.

For other UK cities, where less

UberXL cars are electrified already, the 100 per cent hybrid and electric deadline is 2022.

Uber’s London drivers will be given financial help to switch to a new car, with grants of up to £5,000 towards a new vehicle compliant with the new regulation.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ybn36nxd

MANUFACTURING

New Nissan Leaf to enter UK production by end of year Nissan plans to start full production of the new Leaf in the UK by the end of 2017.

The car maker aims to start production at the Nissan Motor Manufacturing plant in Sunderland, and for US, aims to start work at Nissan’s Vehicle Assembly Plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Fumiaki Matsumoto, executive vice president of Nissan, commented: “The Nissan Leaf is the icon of Nissan Intelligent Mobility with its many advanced technologies. Nissan employees in Oppama, Smyrna and Sunderland are excited to continue producing the most popular electric vehicle in the world.”

The new Nissan Leaf will go on sale on 2 October in Japan

and in the coming months in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Production of the previous generation of the Nissan Leaf began at Oppama in 2010, and at Smyrna and Sunderland in 2013. Nissan Leaf batteries will continue to be produced in Smyrna, Sunderland and Zama, Japan.

READ MORE bit.ly/2jp94Bt

The power of the media and warnings of energy apocalypse The steady stream of recent announcements about electric vehicles has created a sense of excitement that a plug-in future is just around the corner. But some in the media have responded by publishing lurid (but eye-catching – which I suppose is the point) headlines about blackouts and other dystopian side-effects from the change.

After the publication of the National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios (emphasis on the words ‘future’ and ‘scenarios’), August was peppered with doomsday headlines about the lights going out every time you plugged in your electric toothbrush unless we build gazillions of new nuclear power stations. The media immediately pounced on the fact that future EVs will have bigger batteries (they almost certainly will), possibly with a capacity of 90kWhr, which would take all day to charge (which they would from the current domestic 7kW chargers). Therefore, they jumped to the idea that consumers will be getting 11kW or even 22kW chargers (they won’t) and thus tripping the fuses every time they make a cup of tea.

There was one glaring omission in all the hysteria; that fundamental fact about how much we actually drive. A typical annual mileage of 10,000 miles equates to around 45 miles per day. That requires about 10kWhr of electricity, or around three hours of standard 3.5kW charging. Fairly easy to deliver comfortably in today’s homes.

(I should know; that is what I have and is roughly what I do).

Put another way, a high power 7kW home charger can give you about 230 miles from an overnight charge (if you have an empty 50kWh battery). Five days a week for a typical working year, gives about 50,000 miles annually. How many of us do that mileage? (Of course, were we to increase our travelling by anything like that, gridlock would ensue and limit the possibility of further motoring, well before we got to 50k!) Yes long journeys will need a robust and ‘very rapid’ charging network, (in bespoke sites) but is providing the average motorist with a convenient slow charge perhaps more of a priority to create uptake? PHEV/REEV are currently twice as popular as BEV, and it is probably telling that over 70 per cent of BMW i3 on UK roads are the range-extended version.

The media response to its Future Energy Scenarios report was such that National Grid was prompted to take the unusual step of publishing a ‘mythbuster’ to clarify some of the misconceptions its original report had generated. The ‘mythbuster’ said that, in reality, the introduction of ‘smart charging’, energy storage and other demand-side responses will dramatically change the outlook for electricity demand, smoothing the peaks and troughs.

National Grid might also have added that, currently, the average mileage of a petrol car in the UK is less than 6,500 miles, and for diesel less than 11,000 miles. Plug-in vehicles can deliver the utility we need and the grid can deliver the electricity we need. We will have to work in partnership to make sure the complete system works ‘smartly’ and having models and data from which we can build our plans is a very sensible step. What isn’t helpful is a sensationalist media threatening that there won’t be enough electricity left to boil my afternoon cuppa!

FURTHER INFORMATION www.lowcvp.org.uk

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

9

News MANUFACTURING

Every Honda model launched in Europe to feature electric capabilities Honda has confirmed that electrified technology will now feature in every new car model launched in Europe.

The announcement was made by Honda Motor Co. president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, during his conference speech at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

At a global level, Honda aims to have

electrified technology in two‑thirds of its new car sales by 2030.

In Europe, the target year is 2025.

Hachigo-san commented: “Here in Europe, we see this move towards electrification gathering pace at an even higher rate than elsewhere.”

He added that Europe was

therefore particularly appropriate for the global premiere of the “next step” in Honda’s ‘Electric Vision’ strategy.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yb924kzf

TAXIS

Leicester to relax taxi license rules to encourage EV take-up Leicester City Council has announced plans to introduce a temporary hold on its taxi licensing age policy until mid-2018.

According to Air Quality News, this is when the council believes more ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) will be available to hackney carriage operators.

At the moment, the current policy on vehicle age is that no hackney carriage will be licensed after it is 11-years-old.

The policy relaxation will see around 30 carriages which are due to reach this limit within

the next eight months be re‑licensed until 30 June 2018.

The measure has been requested by a number of local operators and members of the local RMT the city council claims.

Cllr Adam Clarke, assistant city mayor for energy and sustainability, said: “Ultra‑low emission hackney cabs are one of the key ways that we can help our local taxi operators clean up their fleets and support our ambition for healthy air in Leicester.

“By relaxing the age limit in this way, we are giving taxi operators a little bit of breathing space until the new ULEV hackney cabs are available. Otherwise, we’re giving them no alternative other than to replace with a new petrol or diesel vehicle.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/y7s9qwjm

Telsa creates extra battery capacity for owners near Hurricane Irma Tesla has given owners of vehicles with software-limited battery capacity in the path of Hurricane Irma more range, Clean Technica has reported.

An emergency firmware update was issued by Tesla on its Model S and X vehicles with 60 kWh of capacity, which actually have 75 kWh batteries installed.

Tesla drivers reached out to the firm for comment on the matter and confirmed that the update

was actually pushed out for this reason, specifically for owners in hurricane-affected areas.

The firmware update from Tesla increases the range of the vehicles from 210 miles per charge up to 249 miles, which allows owners to drive that much further out of the storm area.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ycj3jbql

AIR QUALITY

ELECTRIFICATION

London’s mayor rolls out school air quality audits

Every Jaguar and Land Rover launched from 2020 to be electrified

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has announced the first of 50 air quality audits for primary schools in the worst polluted areas in the capital in bid to protect children from toxic air.

The audits are funded by £250,000 from the mayor’s Air Quality Fund.

Actions could include moving school entrances and play areas away from busy roads; ‘no engine

10

EV RANGE

idling’ schemes; improving road layouts and putting in place pedestrianisation around school entrances’; implementing ‘barrier bushes’ along busy roads and to filter toxic fumes; and improvements to encourage walking and cycling to school.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/y7me65h8

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

From 2020, all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified.

The company made the announcement at its inaugural Tech Fest, a series of debates and a free public exhibition about the future of mobility.

Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer, said: “Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our

customers even more choice.

We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles. Our first fully electric performance SUV, the Jaguar I-Pace, goes on sale next year.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yawxwd6z

Scottish train stations to have electric car chargers The roll out of electric vehicle chargers at 50 of Scotland’s train stations has begun.

Chargers are already live at Uphall, Bathgate, East Kilbride and Johnstone.

In the coming weeks, charging points will be installed at Aberdeen, Dyce, Elgin and Wick, among dozens of others.

They will be free to use, but electric vehicles will still have to pay parking fees.

Drivers must also have a valid ChargePlace Scotland card to use the charger.

Rebecca Roper, community manager at ChargePlace

Scotland, said: “We are delighted to welcome the new ScotRail Alliance charge points onto the growing ChargePlace Scotland network.

“The addition of these charge points presents the opportunity for greener commuting and travel, and also provides more recharging options at convenient locations for the increasing number of electric vehicles on Scotland’s roads.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ycu6sdnv

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

EV start-up Alcraft reveals its first car The British electric vehicle start-up firm – Alcraft Motor Company – has revealed the details of its first car.

The high-performance Alcraft GT has a 300-mile range and has been labelled by the firm as “extremely sporty, yet practical”.

The fundamental concept is battery-only, but has been designed and engineered so that a range-extender could be added. It has also been designed so that it can be made as a 2+2 rather than a two-seater.

Virtual engineering has provided expected figures of 840lb ft torque and 600hp

which, with four-wheel drive, torque vectoring, and light weight, result in an estimated 0-62mph time of 3.5 secs.

The batteries are in a T-shaped pack between and behind the driver and passenger seats.

The business is targeting a start of production in 2019, and is launching a crowdfunding campaign offering the chance to play a part in the development of the car and a new British brand.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ybszvkw3

SHOWROOMS

Fleet efficiency: the three steps for smoother, safer drivers We have some significant problems on our roads and in our fleets. There are more than 22,000 deaths or serious injuries each year in the UK from road accidents and air pollution from our vehicles’ emissions is claimed to be responsible for 25,000 premature deaths each year. We are also wasting billions because of unnecessarily poor fuel economy.

However, driving in a smoother, steadier style can quickly reduce risk, lower emissions and cut waste. In other words, it’s the common denominator that can simultaneously address all three of these major challenges.

What’s more, it works immediately and makes a difference in any vehicle type.

So how can we take smooth driving mainstream?

Firstly, you need to be able to tell whether the vehicle is being driven efficiently. Lightfoot achieves this by connecting directly to the engine via the OBD port and measuring if the vehicle is being driven in its sweet spot using F1-style analytics.

Secondly, the driver needs real-time feedback at the exact moment they need to adapt their driving style. Lightfoot found that the human voice is extremely powerful and gives drivers verbal nudges precisely when they start to leave their engine’s most efficient sweet spot. Lightfood has also learned that it pays to leave the driver in control – for example, a ‘three strikes’ approach is appropriate.

Finally, driver engagement is key. Drivers can be the solution if we enable, recognise and reward them for good driving. Instead of backing them into a corner, restricting their freedom and demonstrating a lack of trust in them, we need to empower them, offering them the tools to change themselves and the incentives to make them want to. For example, Lightfoot has recently introduced the Allianz-sponsored Fleet Driver of the Week initiative, where better fleet drivers are recognised and rewarded with exciting prizes – such as supercar track days and gadgets like the Amazon Echo.

Leading insurers analysing fleets using Lightfoot are seeing their insurance claims drop by as much as 60 per cent, alongside increased fuel economy, reductions in wear and tear and a lowering of harmful emissions.

The idea of working with drivers is a far more sustainable solution than increasing attempts to control what they do.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Bristol Hyundai showroom undergoes ‘green’ refurb Bristol Hyundai’s showroom has had a £330,000 refurbishment, which includes the installation of charge points for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Renovation works at the Bristol Street Motors facility has included the installation of efficient lighting and air conditioning, as well as vehicle chargers, in a bid to go green.

To oversee the newly‑improved

News

INFRASTRUCTURE

www.lightfoot.co.uk/business

dealership, Bristol Street Motors has promoted Terry Thurgood from sales manager to branch manager. Terry says “The installation of EV charge points and the green credentials of the refurbishment will allow us to support the city’s ethos.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/ybmuy663

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

11

Commercial Vehicle News

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS

£11 million to be invested into low emission buses

Self-driving lorry ‘platooning’ trial given the go ahead

Local authorities and bus companies have been awarded a share of £11 million under the government’s ‘Low emission bus scheme’ to help buy 153 cleaner buses.

The areas which are set to benefit from the funds include Bristol, York, Brighton, Surrey, Denbighshire and Wiltshire.

The successful bidders of the funds include Denbighshire County Council in Wales, where £500,000 will be invested for four electric buses to be used on services in mid-Denbighshire.

The City of York Council is set to receive £3.3 million for 24 electric buses on park and ride services; South Gloucestershire Council will benefit from £4.8 million for 110 gas buses, and Surrey County Council will get £1.5 million for nine electric buses.

In addition, The Big Lemon firm will get £500,000 for three electric buses to be used

in the Brighton area and Go South Coast/ Wiltshire County Council will get £500,000 for three electric buses to be used on park and ride services around Salisbury.

The government’s support for low emission buses is one part of a £600 million package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles by 2020, plus £270 million announced in the 2016 Autumn Statement to support the roll out of low emission cars, taxis and buses and supporting infrastructure.

Later this year, the government will also publish plans for a second round of the ‘Low emission bus scheme’ with a view to putting even more of the cleanest buses on our streets.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/y8ks25d3

HYDROGEN

Hydrogen fuel conversion for Oxford waste truck ULEMCo has completed the first hydrogen fuel conversion for Oxford commercial waste firm, Grundon Waste Management.

The firm, which specialises in low emission technology, carried out the hydrogen diesel dual-fuel conversion on one of Grundon’s waste disposal trucks.

ULEMCo has previously retro-fitted a number of lorries and vans in the public sector, but this is the first private sector contract.

The project also represents the first such conversion of a DAF vehicle, and signals the way towards the use of hydrogen as a practical alternative to reduce emissions in a wide range of vehicle makes.

This project featured a new modular approach to conversion by ULEMCo. It deployed a 10kg hydrogen unit on the side of the lorry, and this approach will enable the company to reduce the costs of converting other vehicle types.

Earlier this year, Grundon committed to reducing all greenhouse gas emissions from its vehicles to net zero by extending its CarbonNeutral® fleet certification programme for a fourth consecutive year.

The certification means that every mile travelled by Grundon lorries and cars is

12

The UK’s first HGV ‘platooning’ trial, jointly funded by Highways England and the Department for Transport, has been given the green light. Transport Research Laboratory will carry out the trials, which will see how lorries can accelerate, brake and steer in sync through wireless technology.

The ‘platooning’ trials will see up to three self-driving heavy goods vehicles, travelling in convoy, with acceleration and braking controlled by the lead vehicle.

All lorries in the platoon will always have a driver ready to take control at any time. A row of lorries driving closer together could see the front truck pushing the air out of the way, making the vehicles in the convoy more efficient, lowering emissions and improving air quality.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England’s chief executive, welcomed the announcement, and stressed that safety will be an integral part of the trials: “We are pleased to be supporting the government’s ambition for the UK to be a global leader for innovation.

“The trial has the potential to demonstrate how greater automation of vehicles – in this instance, HGVs – can deliver improvements in safety, better journeys for road users and reduction in vehicle emissions.”

E Read more about truck platoons on p25 READ MORE tinyurl.com/y9kz3qt6

ELECTRIC VANS

Range extended Renault Kangoo Van Z.E. 33 announced

officially carbon neutral. This helps customers reduce their own carbon footprint, and is further enhanced through the adoption of the hydrogen diesel dual-fuel conversion.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yat7q25w

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Renault UK has announced pricing and specification for the New Renault Kangoo Van Z.E. 33 that has increased its range to 170 miles (NEDC) on a single charge.

Available in four variants, the New Kangoo Van Z.E. 33 will arrive in UK showrooms from November 2017, priced from £14,194.67 (after Plug-in Van Grant, excluding VAT).

In real-world driving, Renault estimates the Kangoo fitted with the new Z.E. 33 battery has a real-world range of up to 124 miles.

The Z.E. 33 battery replaces the previous battery which offered a range of 106 miles (NEDC). The new battery boasts 33kWh of useful energy, equivalent to almost double the storage capacity of its previous battery. The New Kangoo Van Z.E. 33 remains available to purchase with a monthly battery lease agreement or outright with no battery lease agreement.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yaj9svb3

Commercial Vehicle News

FREIGHT TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

ELECTRIC TRUCK

Tesla set to unveil electric lorry in October Tesla is expected to reveal its electric lorry in October, chief executive Elon Musk has said.

The firm’s boss has confirmed on twitter that the all-electric truck will be revealed on 26 October.

At the launch event, test

rides will also be available.

The vehicle is expected to have a real-world range of between 200 and 300 miles, Reuters has said.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/y98r8euf

SCRAPPAGE SCHEME

Fiat Professional launches UK scrappage scheme Fiat Professional UK has launched a scrappage scheme to encourage the trade-in of older, polluting vans and cars.

The manufacturer is offering a saving of up to £13,500 off a new, low emission van from the brand’s commercial vehicle range.

The scrappage scheme is available using any petrol and diesel car or van registered before 31 December 2009 and customers trade in their old vehicle for a new Fiat Professional van.

The dealer will organise the scrappage of the old vehicle and the scheme will run until 30 September.

The entire range of new Fiat Professional vehicles is included with a range of offers: up to £5,500 off a Fullback, up to £6,500 off a Fiorino, up to £8,500 against a Doblo, up to

£10,500 off a Talento and up to £13,500 against a Ducato.

Richard Chamberlain, country manager, Fiat Professional, commented: “I am delighted to announce that Fiat Professional is launching its own scrappage scheme, making new cars and vans even more affordable.

“And with a possible £13,500 to gain, and no restriction on the trade-in vehicle, I am sure many customers will find this initiative exciting and useful.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/yaahf9c6

Licence changes for alternatively fuelled commercial vehicles On 26 July 2017, the government Rebecca Kite, published a consultation on climate Category B Driving Licence change derogation for alternatively policy manager, fuelled Commercial Vehicles.

FTA The consultation consists of three proposals, with its main objective to increase the uptake of cleaner and more efficient vans.

The additional weight of an electric battery cell has resulted in a trade-off for operators between a reduction in payload, or exceeding the 3.5t limit which requires a driver to hold a category C1 licence instead of a category B ‘car’ licence. The first proposal looks to remove this barrier by increasing the weight limit of alternatively-fuelled vans that can be driven on a category B licence in the UK from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes. Under the derogation, drivers will not be permitted to use a trailer of any size.

The second part looks to modify an earlier proposal from 2014 to remove the general exemption for some vehicles, including electric vehicles, from the goods vehicle operator licensing requirements in Great Britain.

If these proposals come into place, the government’s intention is to modify them so that all alternatively fuelled vehicles up to 4.25 tonnes will be exempt from goods vehicle operator licensing and would not require the associated time and cost that comes with an operator licence regime. This would only apply to restricted licence holders where the government is already free to amend the requirements without the agreement of Brussels.

The consultation does recognise that the current weight rules exist for a reason, but goes on to identify why the proposals are not considered to compromise road safety: it suggests that the extra weight in alternatively‑fuelled vehicles would be centred around the chassis or underneath the cab, this positioning therefore should keep any negative impacts on handling to a minimum.

There could be a potential for these vehicles to be more damaging if involved in a collision due to the additional weight, so a full impact assessment will be carried out to determine the full extent of any potential safety impacts.

The nature of these vehicles and the way in which they are used is not thought to pose any immediate safety threats; drivers would largely be undertaking urban drive cycles which tend to be shorter and slower journeys. However, this may need to be re-evaluated in the long term as they become more common place.

The final part of the consultation looks to include electric vehicles in statutory roadworthiness testing – an MOT for vehicles 3.5t and below, HGV annual testing for those greater – and would therefore raise the safety requirements for electric vehicles and address many of the concerns.

The proposed changes could increase the uptake of these vehicles, and with their obvious environmental benefits, FTA agrees that there is potential for industry to achieve a significant reduction in emissions.

The jury is out until results of the safety impact assessment are released. If no or negligible impacts are found then FTA would support the proposals.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.fta.co.uk www.fta.co.uk/lcrs

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

13

THE NEW FORD

KUGA

Powerful, good-looking and a great communicator.

With its range of economical engines, bold styling and sophisticated SYNC 3 touchscreen, the New Ford Kuga really is the whole package.

To find out how Ford can help your business go further, call the Ford Business Centre on 0345 723 2323.

NEW FORD KUGA P11D

£35,090-£21,640

BIK

33%-25%

C02

173-115g/km

COMBINED MPG

37.7-64.2

Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the New Ford Kuga range: urban 30.1 - 58.9 (9.4 - 4.8), extra urban 44.8 - 67.3 (6.3 - 4.2), combined 37.7- 64.2 (7.5 - 4.4). Official CO 2 emissions 173-115g/km.

The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience. Model shown is Kuga ST-Line X. BIK values were correct at the time of printing and are based on taxation rates for 2017/18 tax year. P11D value is the sum of RRP (plus VAT) and number plate charge (£25). Options available at additional cost.

The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) has now come into effect and promises more realistic emissions and fuel economy performance data. So what’s changed?

It has been know for some time now Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), the new that the quoted fuel consumption and laboratory tests will measure everything emissions figures given by car manufacturers from fuel consumption and carbon dioxide are unachievable, and the tests to gain the (CO2), to nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulates, data, which haven’t changed in 20 years, (PM/PN) and carbon monoxide (CO). are unrealistic. The Volkswagen emissions Crucially, on‑road testing will also take scandal heightened the issue when it emerged place to gain ‘real-world’ emissions data. that they had been using a cheat device during the tests to give favourable results.

What does the test involve?

The new test is still conducted in controlled The old tests, known as the New European laboratory conditions to ensure consistency Driving Cycle (NEDC), took place in a across every test in every country. However, laboratory on a rolling road and did not take it is longer and more dynamic, with a greater into consideration driving styles and road range of vehicle and engine speeds, engine conditions, such as speed, congestion, and load, gear changes and temperatures. road surfaces. It also didn’t take account The lab tests will include more realistic of new safety and comfort technologies, testing conditions based on data from ‘real where their fitment can differ across driving’ to make it far closer to the models. This all resulted in a gap conditions met on the road. It between lab-tested data e will also take into account and the data actually Portablns modern vehicle technology. achieved on the road. o i s emis t The second part of the As a result of this, a n e m e r u s a test is a new Real Driving new, more realistic way e m ent m Emissions (RDE) test, of testing new cars has p i u q e ipe which uses portable now come into effect se tailp y l a n a

emissions measurement (1 September 2017). l il f o w ns o i s s (PEMS) equipment.

Called the Worldwide i m e uch This analyses the trace Harmonised Light tants, s

pollu O and as N X lates particu

LowCVP has launched an information portal in order to give clarity about the introduction and adoption of the new World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

Emissions Testing

The new emissions and fuel economy test: what is it?

LowCVP launches information portal for new emissions tests

The online portal will provide guidance on the new test in order to maximise benefits for motorists and encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles. It can be found at www.lowcvp.org.uk/ initiatives/fuel-economy.

Andy Eastlake, managing director, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, commented: “The figures from the new WLTP test are designed to really help consumers understand which powertrain technology and vehicle is best suited to their driving and journey patterns.

“The LowCVP is working with its stakeholder community to coordinate detailed guidance and the presentation of the new data and to maximise the benefit for motorists, to further encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles.” tailpipe emissions of pollutants, including NOX and particulates, while the car is driven in a wide range of conditions in a mix of towns, countryside and motorways. This will ensure vehicles meet Euro 6 emissions standard on the road as well as in the lab.

The new tests will also measure energy consumption for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. E An example of a portable emissions measuring device

15

Emissions Testing

 The WLTP is designed to stop car manufacturers cheating on the emissions test. Volkswagen manipulated test results with sensors that detected when the vehicle was running on a rolling-road in the lab.

Only if a vehicle meets these requirements and is independently witnessed by a government-appointed independent approval agency, it will be approved for sale in Europe.

Commenting on the new tests, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “We welcome this challenging new regime, which will provide hard evidence that the industry’s ongoing investment in ever more advanced technology is delivering on air quality goals.

“Combined, these new and demanding tests will soon give consumers emissions performance information that is far closer to what they experience behind the wheel – and inspire greater confidence that the new cars they buy are not only the cleanest, but the most fuel efficient ever produced.”

Short term changes Manufacturers and the Government’s Vehicle Certification Agency are expected to progressively start showing WLTP car performance figures on their websites from late 2017, as new models are approved. But cars tested under WLTP will still have NEDC CO2 and fuel consumption values reported until 2020.

From 1 September 2017, cars approved under WLTP will continue to be taxed against the NEDC CO2 emission value, so there is no change to the CO2-based taxation systems

in the short term. This includes vehicle tax (VED) and company car tax (BIK).

By 1 September 2018, all new cars on sale will have undergone WLTP testing and by 1 September 2019, all will have undergone the full RDE testing for both NOx and PN. Manufacturers must continue to use the NEDC CO2 figure to report against European CO2 emission fleet average targets (which were set against NEDC) for new cars until the complete switch to WLTP.

The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) has launched an information portal to give clarity and consistency about the introduction and progressive adoption of the new WLTP fuel economy test: visit the web link below. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.lowcvp.org.uk/initiatives/ fuel-economy

THE FLEET MANAGERS’ CHOICE We manufacture the UK’s largest range of EV charge points specifically suited to the fleet and vehicle leasing industries AT HOME

Grant-assisted home EV charge point installations for your fleet drivers

AT WORK

Claim up to £600 (+VAT) discount per charging unit with the Workplace Charging Scheme

ü

Our charging points are compatible with all current EVs/PHEVs and have been tested and certified by many of the leading vehicle manufacturers, including: Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Kia, Hyundai, etc.

ü

Nationwide installation service covering all areas of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

CURRENT FLEET PARTNERS INCLUDE:

16

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

t : ++44 (0)1205 724754 : rolec@rolecserv.co.uk Website : www.rolecserv.com

Advertisement Feature ADVERTORIAL

EVs key 800 WORD to saving EDIT HEADLINE your business HERE money AS TIGHT AS POSS

Popularity of electric vehicles in the corporate sector is growing, thanks, in part, to the cost savings they provide

everything from councils and universities such as Oxford City Council and Swansea University, public bodies including Transport for London, Cornwall NHS Trust and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, to large companies like Microsoft UK, Britvic and OVO Energy.

OVO Energy, for example, is committed to a sustainable future and recently launched an EV energy bundle for customers for at-home and on-the-go charging.

Tom Pakenham, head of electric vehicles at OVO Energy, commented: “We’re delighted to become a Go Ultra Low Company, as we are passionate about keeping emissions low and reducing pollution levels.

That’s why our fleet is already turning green, with more than 20 per cent running on electric. We want to lead by example and by offering low emission opportunities for our customers and fleet, together we can embrace a greener future.”

Written by

The UK is a world leader in tackling climate responsibly – particularly on when and how change and the government is committed to re-charge the battery. Education is key, if Udae nonsend quam et down et, sed to improving air qualityicidisquid and supporting the elisimincim organisationsfacepro wish to break barriers quodi blaborum molorem eumque laboribus transition to a low carbonut economy.

Its aim aut is ationse and help nos employees enjoy the multiple that nearly all cars dolo and vans on our are benefits thatnitibusdae electric vehiclesnullacianti bring. et quoditiat qui deroads volecab orerisqui zero emission by 2050 – and UK businesses One such barrier is the perceived lack of rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae are playing a leading role in achieving this. charging infrastructure. However, there earibus, tem et publically accessible nimus The latest industry data fromipsaest the Societymoluptatium are more es thannet 13,000 of Motor Manufacturers and Traders shows chargepoint connectors around the country xoxoxoxo that electric vehicles have become a serious (source: NGC / Zap-Map), including more than consideration for an increasing number of 900 rapid charger devices installed across the businesses company car drivers across transport network. In addition, the Electric FURTHERand INFORMATION the UK. During the first half of this year, Vehicle Homecharge and Workplace Charging xxx plug-in cars were registered across 22,480 schemes provide support to offset the upfront Britain – a rise of 14.3 per cent on 2016 and cost of installing chargepoints at employee 53.8 per cent up on the same period in 2015. homes and at eligible businesses, respectively.

Registrations to fleet and business operators New government and private sector accounted for 65 per cent of the total volume investment for infrastructure and enhanced – demonstrating the strong appetite for technology from vehicle manufacturers electric vehicles in the UK’s corporate sector. answer many of the questions around range and charging, and Go Ultra Low research What’s stimulating this has also shown that fleet operators value continued growth? feedback from fellow professionals and real It’s simple – businesses and other experiences of running an electric fleet. organisations realise that electric vehicle The organisations that have gained technology can save them, and their ‘Go Ultra Low Company’ status are great employees, significant amounts of money. examples of how to make electric vehicles Plug-in vehicles benefit from government work for a business and its employees. grants, tax incentives and can have cheaper The initiative recognises organisations that fuel and maintenance costs – often whole life have already adopted electric vehicles, and costs can be much less than for a petrol or pledge that at least five per cent of their diesel equivalent. In addition, these vehicles vehicle fleet will be ultra‑low emission by provide notable environmental benefits as 2020. The response has been excellent, they produce substantially lower emissions. from both the private and public sectors, Businesses can also encourage their with over 100 companies signing up employees to consider an electric vehicle within the first year of the scheme. as a company car choice by helping them The list of Go Ultra Low Companies is a understand how to run one efficiently and diverse group of organisations covering

The aims of Go Ultra Low One of the aims of Go Ultra Low is to help forward-thinking organisations understand the benefits of introducing electric vehicles to their fleets and of offering employees the chance to drive or own one.

If you’re thinking of introducing electric vehicles, visit the Go Ultra Low website (goultralow.com/fleet) for more information about electric vehicles, whole life costs, and how they could work for your business and employees. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.goultralow.com

17

Supercharge your fleet Keep your business moving with 100% funded EV rapid chargers

Engenie is set to fund and install hundreds of electric vehicle RAPID charging points throughout the UK in car parks at supermarkets, hotels, restaurant chains, petrol stations, commercial developments, on-street locations and at fleet depots.

Let us help you make a smooth transition to environmentally friendly zero emission vehicles.

Our fully funded rapid charging stations provide the perfect answer to keeping your electric vehicles charged at lower cost.

50kW charging to 80% in under 30 minutes, 16 x quicker than standard points 100% funded installation so no cost to your organisation Total solution to help fleet managers move to electric vehicles Contributes to improving local air quality Industry leading, proven, reliable, safe and futureproof charging equipment 24/7 friendly customer service with simple kWh unit billing

For more information contact us:

E: fleets@engenie.co.uk T: 08000 588 400 Compliant with

www.engenie.co.uk

Advertisement Feature ADVERTORIAL

TimeWORD 800 is rightEDIT for the HEADLINE rapid switch HERE to electric AS TIGHT AS POSS

While shifting to an electric fleet has a number of key benefits, there are hurdles to overcome. Rapid charging experts Engenie has an innovative solution to one of them the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), British-firm Engenie has many years of expertise in the EV charging market, and is a specialist in rapid charging technology.

Installing rapid chargers from ABB – widely accepted as one of the industry’s leading hardware manufacturers – Engenie’s charge points provide a quick and convenient way for EV drivers to charge-up, keeping a company’s fleet moving.

As part of the offer, management of the charge point is included with 24/7 customer service cover, as is a simple ‘per kWh’ unit billing system which tracks multiple drivers’ charging sessions.

Providing a high-quality reliable rapid charger on-site at no upfront cost removes the argument against switching to an electric fleet – and having Engenie’s expertise will make the whole process easier still. L

Written by

You may have noticed a lot of news in under 30 minutes, typically providing an Udae nonsend icidisquid quam elisimincim facepro et et, sed coverage recently about vehicle emissions additional 100 miles of range per charge quodi blaborum ut molorem nosuse. eumque laboribus and electric cars. Access restrictions for the aut ationse for continued An all-electric fleet most polluting vehicles set tode become supported by a dedicated rapid charger is et quoditiat doloarequi volecab orerisqui nitibusdae nullacianti the new norm in several cities, and Clean Air therefore a complete operational solution. rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae Zones are soon to be implemented across It is this area of the EV market where nimus earibus, ipsaest es net the UK with additionaltem costs for access. moluptatium Engenie comes intoet its own.

The UK Government has also signalled xoxoxoxo its long-term objective – in no uncertain Remarkable free rapid offer terms – by announcing a sales ban on As rapid chargers are the most expensive allFURTHER new purelyINFORMATION petrol and diesel cars and type of EV supply equipment, many fleets vans from 2040. You have been warned. don’t have the capex to fund one or more of xxx New air quality measures will mean that these units. Instead, they often rely on the many fleet drivers will have to contend with off-site public network which can get clogged charges to enter certain urban areas. London up by other users and/or slower depot-based is introducing the Toxicity or ‘T-Charge’ from units which can lead to operational issues.

23rd October 2017 which will add £10 to the To address this critical market barrier, cost of the Congestion Charge for cars and experts in rapid charging Engenie now vans that are Euro 3 standard or worse. offer to supply on-site rapid chargers with Although this will impact few operators no installation costs or upfront finance currently, the regulations will be made needed. Using some of the best equipment increasingly strict. Following the London on the market, these rapid units provide Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) due in quick and reliable recharging capability 2019, there are plans to have Zero Emissions for new and established EV fleets.

Zones in some areas from 2025, possibly Funding is already in place for Engenie increasing in coverage over time. to fully-install rapid charge points at With many UK cities expected to adopt fleet locations across the country, the similar access restrictions and charges, the package on offer providing both the future could be an uncertain one for fleet hardware and financing to enable fleets managers, who must juggle the practical to make the switch from fuel-hungry, considerations of a vehicle’s typical working polluting internal combustion models, day, with its operational issues, running costs, to cheap-to-run and clean EVs. tax liabilities and suitability for the job.

Expert in the field Zero is the new low As the installer of the first publicly available Fortunately, a fleet solution that addresses rapid charger in the UK and accredited by the problems of spiralling fuel costs and high emissions is already available in the shape of zero-emission electric vehicles.

Although low emission cars and vans provide some benefits, plug-in electric vehicles offer the greatest potential for reducing emissions, tax and running costs; guaranteeing access to all urban areas whatever emissions restrictions are in play.

Full electric and plug-in hybrids have now been on the market for a number of years, proving themselves to be reliable and offering exceptionally low running costs. The number of e-models continues to increase making plug‑ins a real option for many fleet applications.

While fleet managers have, in the past, been put off going electric due to the current range limitations of fully electric vehicles – many of which have a driving range of 100-180 miles on a single charge – the latest high‑power ‘rapid’ chargers change the equation.

Rapid chargers, rated at 50kW or more, can top-up an EV’s battery to 80 per cent

FURTHER INFORMATION Discover more about zero-cost rapid installs by contacting Engenie on 08000 588 400 or by emailing fleets@engenie.co.uk. For more information, visit www.engenie.co.uk

19

Advertisement Feature

CNG Fuels are the UK’s leading operator of Compressed Natural Gas Does RTFO-approved biomethane help solve the government’s Clear Air Strategy for HGVs and bus fleets? CNG Fuels, the UK’s leading operator of CNG refuelling stations, discusses the issue CNG Fuels are the UK’s leading operator of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling infrastructure. The company is also the largest supplier of RTFO-approved biomethane for vehicles. CNG Fuels operate the UK’s two highest capacity public access CNG refuelling stations, including the first connected to the high-pressure (LTS) natural gas grid in Leyland, Lancashire.

It is generally accepted that there is currently no long-term plan in place to reduce CO2 emissions from the UK HGV fleet. There is also an increasing number of cities that are planning to introduce Clean Air Zones (CAZ) and Ultra Low Emissions Zones (ULEZ) in the coming years. The question therefore is, does RTFO-approved biomethane help solve the Government’s Clear Air Strategy for HGVs and bus fleets?

To answer this question, it is necessary to understand that the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) is one of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) main tools to decarbonise UK road transport. Under this scheme CNG Fuels are dispensing biomethane that is made from food waste and distributed countrywide through the UK’s gas grid pipelines. This biomethane is periodically verified by the DfT and when approved generates Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs). Unlike biomethane which has already collected an incentive like the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), RTFO approved biomethane has no prior support, so the environmental benefits of biomethane can be attributed directly to the vehicle fleets that use it, and ultimately contribute to the UK’s carbon targets.

Environmental benefits The environmental benefits of biomethane distributed via the UK’s natural gas grid need to be established in order to see whether it supports the Governments Clear Air

Strategy. As such, Element Energy Ltd were commissioned by Cadent Gas Ltd (formerly part of National Grid plc) to independently monitor the environmental and economic parameters of CNG Fuels’ Leyland LTS CNG refueling station for over a year. The results were released in July 2017 and the headline findings show that dedicated CNG vehicles refuelled at Leyland bring an 84 per cent reduction in well‑to‑wheel (WTW) CO2 emissions, compared to diesel vehicles, thanks to CNG Fuels’ RTFO-approved biomethane supply. It also showed that CNG vehicles refuelling at Leyland have nine per cent lower emissions than vehicles using biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO). An LTS-connected station offers a 79 per cent reduction in specific station emissions (these are emissions related to the station operation, namely electricity use) compared to a Medium Pressure (MP) connected station. What’s more, an LTS connected station reduces two key components of the well-to-terminal stages – leakage from the distribution network system and emissions due to energy use for gas compression.

Importantly, Element Energy note in their summary report that “natural gas is a market‑ready alternative fuel solution to reduce CO2 emissions from HGVs, which currently account for 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from UK transport (and four per cent of the UK’s total GHG emissions). ”Putting this in perspective, CNG Fuels Leyland station has the capacity to provide 30,000 tonnes of CNG per year (around 80 tonnes per day) and could serve up to 600 dedicated gas HGVs, reducing annual WTW CO2 emissions by as much as 60,000 tons, and displacing 40 million litres of diesel consumption.

CNG Fuels estimate that 100 similar LTS stations would cover more than 90 per cent of UK trunking routes and could refuel at

least 50,000 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) a day. As such the company is using the success of their Leyland site as a blueprint for rolling out similar stations across the UK. There are currently around 490,000 HGVs on UK roads according to the DfT’s latest figures.

These HGVs represent only 1.31 per cent of all UK road vehicles but they produce 17 per cent of all road CO2 emissions and 21 per cent of all road NOx emissions (in terms of air quality benefits, CNG vehicles produce 45‑75 per cent lower PM and NOx emissions than a Euro VI diesel equivalent). This figure does not account for the 160,000 buses that are also on UK roads and could also be supplied with biomethane. There is now clear evidence showing that vehicles running on RTFO‑approved biomethane are much cleaner than vehicles running on a diesel equivalent.

Additional, the economics of running a fleet on biomethane are extremely attractive.

Biomethane generates fuel savings of more than 30 per cent on a pence per mile basis, generating substantial total ownership cost savings. Gas-powered vehicles are about 50 per cent quieter than a comparable diesel vehicle, which makes it perfectly suited for urban or residential operations where noise pollution can be a problem.

With the supply of CNG Fuels’ RTFO‑approved biomethane available and the refuelling infrastructure tested and proven, what remains is to look at what else can be done in order for the Government to meet their Clean Air targets. CNG Fuels is building a network of 24-hour public access refuelling stations to provide fleets making the switch to RTFO‑approved biomethane.

They are also able to offer ‘virtual pipeline’ and grid connected on-depot refuelling solutions to increase the convenience of supply. Given this, the Government’s Clear Air Strategy should vocally support biomethane as the only economically and operationally viable alternative fuel for HGV fleets to meet their targets out to 2030.

The company offers multi-week CNG vehicle trials and encourages fleets and other users to contact them (enquiries@cngfuels.com) so mutually suitable locations can be established for the growing CNG refueling network. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.cngfuels.com

20

Alternative Fuels

Greening the UK’s trucks, buses and large vans With emissions from HGVs having risen over the past five years, significant improvements in air quality can be achieved by focusing on LGVs, buses, and HGVs. But with electrification not an option for such large vehicles, what other greener fuels can be sourced? Charlotte Morton finds out

and die panacea ta it is no s all vehicle acros izes s

being a reliable option for transport, over the short to mid term, biomethane is a technology-ready, cost-effective means of slashing emissions and particulate matter and improving air quality, and is the only practical means of decarbonising HGVs, buses, and other large vehicles.

Why biomethane?

Use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel provides numerous benefits compared to other fuels.

Increased uptake of biomethane‑fuelled vehicles would result in improved air quality from dramatically reduced NOx emissions, particulate-matter-free combustion, and fewer ozone promoters, aldehydes and non‑methane hydrocarbons.

While Euro VI diesel vehicles may now achieve similar air-quality improvements to gas options, the well-to-tank emissions values from use of biomethane as a transport fuel offer significant carbon savings, whether feedstocks of waste, residue, or crop are used.

A recent study by NGVA Europe confirmed that natural gas reduces greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles by E

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

Written by Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association

Air pollution is one of the largest risks “large, long‑distance HGVs are not suitable to public health in the UK, with studies for conventional electrification as they showing that it is the cause of over 40,000 would require an excessively large battery premature deaths per year and that the for long-distance movement of goods”, and most deprived areas bear a disproportionate the same is true of other large vehicles. share of poor air quality. A key contributor to air pollution, as well as to 20 per cent of The role of biomethane the UK’s carbon emissions, is transport.

Biomethane is a low-carbon, methane‑based Over half of roadside emissions are from transport fuel produced by anaerobic buses, taxis, light goods vehicles (LGVs), digestion (AD), a natural process that and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), all of breaks down organic wastes and which have high levels of nitrogen-oxide purpose‑grown crops to create a biogas (NOx) emissions. With emissions from that can then be upgraded to biomethane.

HGVs in particular having risen over the With more than 80 AD plants across the past five years, significant improvements UK already producing biomethane, the UK in air quality can be achieved by focusing AD industry has sufficient capacity today to on LGVs, buses, and HGVs. produce enough biomethane to power 80 While electrification may per cent of the UK’s entire bus fleet offer a suitable low-carbon and the potential to produce alternative to petrol and enough biomethane to power diesel passenger cars, 75 per cent of all HGVs in While on i t it is not a panacea the UK. It can also be used a c fi i r t elec a suitable across all vehicle directly on farms to fuel fer f sizes. The Committee agricultural vehicles. l o o r y t a e p m o t on Climate Change Given how far e v i t alterna sel cars, has recognised that hydrogen is from

21

Alternative Fuels

 16 per cent for compressed natural gas and 15 per cent for liquefied natural gas; it also stated that “the use of natural gas represents one of the most effective solutions to fight climate change and improve air quality in a cost-efficient way”.

Continued uptake of biomethane will therefore help the UK achieve its Carbon Budgets and decarbonisation targets under the 2008 Climate Change Act, with the potential to deliver £2.1 billion in CO2e savings per year (assuming a carbon price of £100/tCO2e).

These air-quality and emissions benefits have been achieved through constant progress in biomethane engine technology and gas‑vehicle development, and have been verified in laboratory tests and real driving conditions by portable emissions measurement systems.

Biomethane-fuelled vehicles are quieter than their diesel equivalents, allowing for night-time deliveries that help to reduce congestion. As pointed out by Low Emissions Strategies’ Andrew Whittles, biomethane is also a more robust and simpler technology for reducing emissions and improving air quality than other options, as biomethane vehicles are relatively easy to maintain.

Who’s already using biomethane?

Lots of bus companies across the UK are increasingly looking at gas buses to improve local air quality, reduce their carbon emissions, and save money, with uptake having been stimulated by government policies such as the Bus Service Operators Grant and the Green Bus Fund. Earlier this year, for example, Nottingham City Transport (NCT) unveiled a new £17m double-deck ‘Bio-Gas’ bus fleet, the largest of its kind in the world. NCT now has 30 biomethane vehicles in service with a further 23 on order, with NCT Engineering Director Gary Mason saying that “Customer and driver reaction has been excellent and the quieter, cleaner and smoother running engines have been a great success”.

According to John Bickerton of Reading Buses, who now have the largest gas‑powered bus fleet in the UK, a fifth of their operation is close to carbon neutral,

It’s vital that biomethane as a vehicle fuel is recognised by DfT and the government as the key means of improving air quality in large vehicles in a cost-effective manner while Merseytravel in Liverpool, Stagecoach in Sunderland, and Arriva in Darlington have also adopted biomethane bus fleets.

As Andrew Whittles suggests, with a further £100m recently announced by the government as part of its air-quality plans to improve bus emissions, this is an upward trend that is only going to increase.

In terms of HGVs, six major UK fleet operators are currently trialling 81 gas‑fuelled HGVs in what has been described as the UK’s largest biomethane fuel trial to date.

Justin Laney, general manager for central transport for the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), who use biomethane for a number of their truck fleets, has said that JLP can run five gas lorries for the same emissions as one diesel truck. Along with significant cost savings, Justin says this offers a compelling business case to switch more of their trucks from diesel to biomethane in the future.

What is needed to further stimulate uptake?

At time of writing we are awaiting the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) response to its consultation on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which regulates biofuels used for transport and non-road mobile machinery.

We support DfT’s proposals under the RTFO to double the percentage of renewable fuels that fuel suppliers are obliged to source from 4.75 per cent to 9.75 per cent. This would provide important support for low‑carbon fuels such as biomethane and, with the percentage being held at this level until 2030, provide vital stability for the industry.

We are also keen to see the introduction of a sub-target for ‘development fuels’, one of which should be biomethane, which

Many bus operators have adopted biomethane bus fleets

22

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

would rise to two per cent by 2030. The government therefore needs to proceed with its proposed reforms to the RTFO but also ensure that the scheme provides long-term certainty. The fuel suppliers’ obligation, for example, needs to continue beyond 2030, and there is a need for stability in the value of the Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates, a key trading tool for producers of biomethane.

Looking to the future It’s vital that biomethane as a vehicle fuel is recognised by DfT and the government as the key means of improving air quality in large vehicles in a cost-effective manner.

It’s also critical that there is support from central government for the generation of biogas and its upgrading to biomethane – without this, the AD industry will be unable to generate biomethane for transport and the many benefits of biomethane mentioned above will not be realised. Wider support for AD would not only increase uptake in biomethane as a vehicle fuel but also provide a host of other benefits such as production of renewable energy and biofertiliser, increased food and energy security, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions from wastes.

The role of biomethane in fuelling buses and heavy-duty vehicles to support the government’s Clean Air Strategy will be the key theme of the third ADBA Biomethane & Gas Vehicle Conference, taking place on the 28 September 2017 at the Queen’s Hotel, Leeds. We hope you can join us there to find out how biomethane can help to make your fleet cheaper and greener. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.adbioresources.org

Industry Comment ADVERTORIAL

The role 800 WORD of lubricants EDIT HEADLINE in fuel economy HERE AS TIGHT AS POSS

Fleet managers are always looking for ways to improve the efficiency, reliability and performance of their fleets, to save money on the bottom line and also be compliant with ever-tightening environmental legislation. But the role of lubricants is often overlooked, writes Karl Rudman

Karl Rudman

Written by Advertisement Feature

Udae nonsend icidisquid quam elisimincim facepro et et, sed Policymakers have certainly set their sights which are designed to provide greater quodi blaborum ut molorem aut ationse eumque laboribus on lowering carbon emissions in recent years durabilitynos and meet the needs of and evolving legislation hadde a bigvolecab impact current andnitibusdae future engine hardware. et quoditiat dolohasqui orerisqui nullacianti on the heavy duty diesel engine market. rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae Heavy goods vehicle Original Lubricant design improvements nimus earibus, tem(HGV ipsaest es net et has taken this Equipment Manufacturers OEMs) moluptatium Petro-Canada Lubricants have made significant progress in challenge head on, which has resulted in the xoxoxoxo cutting vehicle emissions. However, launch of new DURON™ Next Generation there is still some way to go. heavy duty diesel engine oils. DURON FURTHER INFORMATION couples the latest innovations in oil additive Rise of CO2 emissions technology with some of the purest base xxx According to the European Commission, oils to deliver improved oxidation resistance CO2 emissions from HGVs rose by 36 per cent (reducing long term oil degradation), shear between 1990 and 2010, mainly due to stability (known as the ability to maintain increasing road freight traffic. Projections stay-in‑grade oil viscosity properties under indicate that, without policy action, total HGV high stress conditions) and aeration control emissions would still be close to current levels (which is critical in the lubrication of modern in 2030 and beyond. The new Euro VI standard high temperature engines). Taken together, has been implemented which aims to tackle these lubricant design improvements provide this challenge head on with the introduction enhanced performance, greater hardware of more stringent emissions limits for both protection, and may reduce vehicle downtime. commercial vehicles and passenger cars.

DURON Next Generation products are Whilst emissions legislation has been the culmination of considerable research tightening, fuel price volatility has also into lowering engine oil viscosity while created an increased appetite among fleet maintaining their ability to withstand a operators for more fuel efficient vehicles. With high-shear engine environment –offering approximately 35 per cent of operational the opportunity for fewer oil changes, costs for fleet operators attributed to extended drain potential, and to provide fuel, it is a large expense; so even small engine protection for longer periods. decreases in fuel consumption can have a DURON Next Generation engine oils significant impact on business bottom lines. have been field tested in Canada’s OEMs are responding to both legislative harshest environments and most extreme developments and end user demands temperatures, so fleet operators can be by designing smaller, more efficient HGV assured that they will provide optimum engines which run at higher operating efficiency wherever and however they are temperatures and utilise the latest surface being used. This no-compromise approach materials to reduce friction in engines. means fleets are ready to face anything But engine design is not the only way to and stay on the road at all times. improve fuel efficiency of HGVs. Lubricants can also contribute directly by minimising Driveline efficiency frictional losses between moving components Of course, improving fuel economy doesn’t of the engine and also reducing pumping and end with changes to engine design or the spinning losses, meaning the work required engine oil used. OEMs and fleet owners to move a component through the lubricant. need to consider the overall driveline To this end, the industry has seen a growing efficiency of their vehicles – from trend towards lower viscosity engine oils. the choice of tyres and wheels, to the By running at higher temperatures, newer driveshaft installation angle and engine designs can stress conventional transmission design, right down to the lubricants and accelerate the rate of oil choice of lubricant used for a particular oxidation and degradation. The end result is operating condition – there are many that the ability of the oil to protect engine individual components to the driveline components from wear and heat dissipation that have an impact on fuel economy. worsens and the frequency of oil changes is Ultimately, each part of the driveline can increased – leading to more vehicle downtime impact on the efficiency of the system as a and higher maintenance costs. Clearly, this whole and the subsequent fuel economy can very quickly negate any cost benefit achieved. Small improvements, or marginal associated with improved fuel economy. gains, at each stage of the driveline can add To address these new technical challenges, up to a big fuel economy improvement overall. next generation engine oils are emerging There is a complex mix of factors behind fuel

Karl Rudman has over 20 years’ experience in the oil and lubricants industry, amassing a wealth of specialist knowledge working for leading global oil companies including Mobil and BP. Karl has held the position of business development manager at Petro-Canada Lubricants Europe, since January 2016.

Karl’s role focuses on the growth and development of finished lubricants sales, using the full breadth of his expertise to evolve both the product line and approach to the market to further accelerate strategic growth in the EMEA region.

Karl holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Nottingham. economy – but the type and viscosity grade of lubricant used can certainly play a part.

Fuel economy The early adoption of lubricants that promote fuel economy creates an opportunity for the proactive fleet manager to both reduce their fuel costs and improve the performance of their fleets and for the wider industry to meet its ambitious reduction targets.

Fleet operators would be advised to discuss with their OEM and consult with them for specific guidance regarding the recommended viscosity grade for their engines and which sub-category will be best suited for their business. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.duronthetougherthebetter.com/

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

23

NEW A REVOLUTIONARY GAS VEHICLE, FOR LONG DISTANCE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT.

DISCOVER HOW GAS CAN

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS

CALL 0800 915 0040 ALL-NEW DRIVELINE

IMPROVED TCO

Cursor 9 400 hp Piek Quiet Truck certified 12-speed automated gearbox with eco-roll function Low friction rear axle Michelin “Triple A” eco-tyres

Up to 40% saving on fuel costs 75,000 km service interval High-End telematics services

LONG DISTANCE PERFORMANCE

OUTSTANDING COMFORT & SAFETY

More than 1,000 litres of LNG capacity Up to 1,500 km between refuelling

Hi-Way cab Best-in-class living space & ergonomics Adaptive Cruise Control Safe-refuelling operation

NEW STRALIS NP: THE BEST-IN-CLASS GAS VEHICLE FOR LONG DISTANCE MISSIONS AND ULTRA-LOW EMISSIONS.

Discover the NEW STRALIS NP, the revolutionary gas vehicle for long distance missions. In addition to extremely low CO2 emissions, and with its completely renewed engine, cab, driveline, CNG and LNG tanks, you can achieve up to 40% saving on fuel costs, minimum pollution and maximum comfort on long distance missions.

STRALIS NP is the natural TCO2 Champion.

Platooning trials funded by the government will see three partially-autonomous lorries travel in a convoy on UK motorways.

GreenFleet finds out what the environmental benefits will be The UK’s first HGV ‘platooning’ trial has been given the green light. The £8.1 million trial will see up to three heavy goods vehicles, travelling in convoy, with acceleration and braking controlled by the lead vehicle.

All lorries in the platoon will always have a driver ready to take control at any time.

It will be carried out in three phases, with the first focusing on the potential for platooning on the UK’s major roads.

The initial test track based research will help decide details such as the distance between vehicles and on which roads the tests could take place.

Trials are expected on major roads by the end of 2018. Each phase of the testing will only begin when there is “robust evidence” that it can be done safely.

The Transport Research Laboratory will carry out the trial, with funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Highways England.

theory is that the front truck pushes the air out of the way, reducing drag and making the vehicles in the convoy more efficient. This in turn lowers emissions and improves air quality.

The fact that the lorries are not driven by humans also eliminates the risk of speeding and harsh braking, as the lorries will operate in the most efficient manner. Drivers will only be there to steer, join and leave the platoon and take back full manual control if needed.

A spokesperson from Highways England told GreenFleet about the green benefits in more detail: “A row of lorries driving closer together could see the front truck pushing the air out of the way making the vehicles more efficient – like how cyclists travel in convoy and take turns at the front to save energy. In a platoon this would lower emissions and improve air quality.

“Improved efficiency will help to reduce transport costs and cut fuel bills – savings which should be passed on to the consumer. Congestion costs money and reducing delays improves the overall reliability of the transport network – leading to further E

With f a row oelling rav lorries t aller gap sm with a n them, the betweeruck pushes front t out of the the air reducing way, drag

How do platoons save emissions?

With a row of lorries travelling with a smaller gap between them, the

A full-scale autonomous truck platooning operation will take place in Singapore to test the viability of the technology.

The Scania‑designed truck platoons will take to public roads while transporting containers between port terminals in Singapore. The aim is to organise convoys of four trucks – with the following three trucks behind the lead truck autonomously driven, as well as to fully automate the processes for precise docking and undocking of cargo.

The multi-year project is organised by the Ministry of Transport and the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA Corporation). Toyota is also participating in this project.

The government of Singapore has tested autonomous cars, taxis, utility vehicles and buses, and is now adding trials of truck platooning concepts. Truck platoons have already shown the potential to achieve major fuel savings as well as contribute to increased road safety.

“Trucking as we know it today is a highly labour-intensive industry.

We face a shortage of truck drivers.

In this regard, truck platooning technology presents us with an opportunity to boost productivity in both the port sector and the trucking industry. It will also open up opportunities for truck drivers to take on higher-skilled roles as fleet operators and managers”, says Mr Pang Kin Keong, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Chairman of the Committee on Autonomous Road Transport in Singapore (CARTS).

The truck platooning trials will take place in two phases.

The first phase will focus on designing, testing and refining the truck platooning technology to adapt to local conditions. These will be conducted by Scania and Toyota at their respective research centres in Sweden and Japan, to leverage their existing development work. The second phase will consist of local trials and development of the technology in Singapore.

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

Commercial Vehicles

Platooning lorries: how are they green?

Singapore’s truck platoon trials

25

Commercial Vehicles

Do you love your lorry?

The fact that platooning lorries are not driven by humans also eliminates the risk of speeding and harsh braking, as the lorries will operate in the most efficient manner  savings which should also be passed on to the consumer.

“The intention is to trial currently available platooning technology and build the scientific evidence necessary to understand whether platooning is suitable for our roads.”

Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “Advances such as lorry platooning could benefit businesses through cheaper fuel bills and other road users thanks to lower emissions and less congestion.

“But first we must make sure the technology is safe and works well on our roads, and that’s why we are investing in these trials.”

Christopher Snelling, the Freight Transport Association’s head of national policy says: “Platooning could be an innovative means of reducing fuel use so saving costs and reducing carbon and air quality emissions. Driving closely together, platoons of trucks take up less space on the road, and travelling at constant speeds can help improve traffic flows and reduce tailbacks,” says Snelling.

“However, the system has to be shown to be safe on the roads and to deliver the promised benefits. The sooner the trial takes place, the sooner the UK logistics industry, which represents 11 per cent of the UK’s non‑financial business economy, can know if this will be the right route for the future.”

Similar trials have already been successfully carried out in Europe and the United States. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.gov.uk

26

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

September sees the return of the RHA’s annual National Lorry Week taking place 11-16 September 2017 – giving everyone a chance to invite the UK to #LoveTheLorry!

Now in its third year, the RHA and its members celebrate our beloved haulage industry by hosting a variety of initiatives and events taking place up and down the country, from logistic themed recruitment fairs, to national hauliers allowing access to vehicles, so the general public has the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of our impressive automotive giants. Furthermore, the RHA itself will be hosting a Parliamentary Reception at the House of Commons on 12 September to promote its key campaigning issues to ministers and government officials.

So why is it worth promoting? This icon of the road plays such a vital role in our entire distribution setup in the UK and with retail and online sales set to increase significantly in the coming years, the impact on the volume of goods to transport and subsequent number of vehicles required, will be considerable.

But as much as we may love the lorry, there’s no hiding from the environmental and cost implications brought by such a vast network of fuel loving beauties. It is, however, positive to see the much publicised drive towards cleaner and greener modes of transport which continues to gather pace to ensure we minimise the impact on the environment of carrying the ever increasing number of goods from A to B. Whatever the future holds for the haulage and fleet industry and the innovation that awaits us, the ‘here and now’ is just as important. Engine Carbon Clean was equally keen to play our part in supporting the ‘Love The Lorry’ initiative by offering transport and fleet managers the chance of a full live demo of our service on a fleet vehicle of their choice, during that September week. We have a wide range of vehicles lined up and look forward to seeing both the environmental and cost benefits for these trusty workhorses.

All in all, National Lorry Week goes some way to highlight this invaluable asset the UK holds dear with its extensive network of haulage and fleet operators aiming to keep the wheels of industry turning, literally.

Adrian Charles is director at Engine Carbon Clean East Midlands. With a degree in chemistry and extensive automotive knowledge, Adrian is the lead advisor at Engine Carbon Clean FURTHER INFORMATION www.enginecarbonclean.com Author: Adrian Charles, Engine Carbon Clean

Industry Comment ADVERTORIAL

Car benefit 800 WORD schemes EDIT HEADLINE are here toHERE stay AS TIGHT AS POSS Udae nonsend icidisquid quam elisimincim facepro et et, sed

quodi blaborum ut changes molorem eumque laboribus The government announced to theaut ationse However,nos Tusker’s research found that only treatment of car benefit which three per cent join because of tax savings, with et quoditiat doloschemes, qui de volecab orerisqui nitibusdae nullacianti came into force in April this year. Their impact 77 per cent joining the scheme because of the rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae however, has been minimal, both in terms of all-inclusive, hassle free package, which offers nimus earibus, tem and ipsaest moluptatium esfornet et All of these benefits are the popularity of the scheme the changes great value money. for drivers. Essentially, while the tax treatment still there and form a big part of why Tusker’s for ultra-low emission vehicles and other cars xoxoxoxo car benefit scheme remains so popular. has altered a little, this hasn’t affected their Employers and employees alike recognise the availability, their attractiveness and the benefits of the scheme as they have proven FURTHERnor INFORMATION actual financial impact has been minimal. to be hugely popular amongst employers xxx While Tusker champion the move wishing to increase staff motivation and to ULEVs and continue to highlight the engagement. Because a car is such a valuable benefits of choosing these cars, their entire benefit, employers are using them to recruit range still provides significant benefits and retain the best people. What’s more, there for drivers and organisations alike. is no cost to employers to set a scheme up.

Originally it was thought that approximately For employees, it’s a brand new, half of all salary sacrifice drivers would all‑inclusive, hassle-free car, for a fixed not be affected at all, as well as ultra-low monthly amount. There’s no deposit, emission vehicle drivers (those who choose credit checks or loans required, and so cars with emissions of 75g/Km CO2 or it provides added peace of mind. less). The reality, following the publication Paul Gilshan, CMO of Tusker, comments: of the Finance Bill in March this year, is “With all the talk around salary sacrifice that even fewer cars are impacted. schemes it is easy to understand why some When the tax changes were announced people are confused about the changes which at the Autumn Statement in 2016, Tusker the government has announced. However, found that they had very little impact on the all of the benefits, both to drivers and to popularity of car schemes. Tusker continued their employers, remain, and have now been to see an increase in orders, with the endorsed by the government, providing company’s best ever start to a year in 2017. clarity and certainty for their future.”

Salary sacrifice schemes The company puts the continued interest in salary sacrifice for cars down to the wider advantages in implementing a scheme.

While the savings for those choosing an ultra-low emission vehicle are maximised, for most salary sacrifice drivers, there are still significant savings to be made. These savings can be made through NI, and where applicable, pension savings. In addition, the buying power that Tusker has as market leader, means that drivers also benefit from manufacturer discounts and very competitive corporate finance rates.

Myths answered ‘It is more expensive for employers to run salary sacrifice schemes.’ All Tusker schemes are free to implement, and there is still no financial cost to implement or run a salary sacrifice car scheme. It is true that employers will no longer save money when their employees choose certain cars on the scheme but it won’t cost employers any more than if they had opted for the cash.

‘Salary sacrifice car schemes are no longer a great benefit for employers to offer’ Cars remain a fantastic benefit of employment and Tusker has seen over fifteen new schemes launch since the tax treatment was clarified in the Autumn Statement.

‘Only ULEVs will be available from now on.’

The savings for ULEVs are greater under salary sacrifice under the new rules, but drivers can continue to choose from thousands of makes and models with varying savings depending on their own circumstances and the CO2 rating for the vehicle.

Tusker continue to encourage drivers to take ULEVs and now offer over 65 models from 16 manufacturers to include BMW, Toyota, Volvo and Tesla, up from just 26 models last year.

Volvo recently announced that they will

Paul Gilshan

Written by Advertisement Feature

Tusker’s car benefit scheme continues to provide employees with the opportunity to drive a brand new car which comes complete with insurance, road tax, breakdown cover, servicing and tyres. It’s a fixed monthly amount which provides peace of mind for drivers

Paul Gilshan, chief marketing officer at Tusker, is responsible for all communications, new business, data and pricing and retention. He previously had roles with ITV, The Times and Sky.

become the first major car manufacturer to go all-electric in 2019, and with the move to more sustainable technologies across multiple industries, Tusker expects more manufacturers to make similar announcements and the range of cars to continue to increase. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.tuskerdirect.com

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

27

Fleetmaster have a unique approach to the training and services that are accessed by the customers and 1,000’s of employees that are trained each year. Through providing a tailored and diverse range of training and support to the highest standards, Fleetmaster are highly commended on the effectiveness of services provided in accurately addressing both mandatory and development training requirements for all employees within most job roles in today’s industry.

By forming true partnerships and working together with employers, the services that are offered by Fleetmaster are designed to be truly unique and exclusive to each employer.

This is a vital component to successful and effective training as every employer operates to different policy and procedures and employ varying talents and skills sets making the now outdated ‘off the self’ training approach ineffective, time consuming and costly.

Fleetmaster offer a wide range of training on-road and classroom based including: • • • • •

LGV Training Packages Van/Grey Fleet Training Packages PSV Training Packages Licence Acquisition A wide range of Apprenticeships

FLEETMASTER

Fleetmaster Group deliver a national service across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, employing over 160 highly skilled expert trainers, instructors and tutors.

Fleetmaster have been servicing industries for 14 years providing training and support services to most sectors. By developing targeted and bespoke solutions to training needs through true partnerships, Fleetmaster have a base of customers that exclusively use the Fleetmaster group for training and support.

For more information please contact: Jamie Boocock 01924 416624 jamie@2fmo.com www.fleetmastergroup.com

Industry Comment ADVERTORIAL

UsingWORD 800 telematics EDIT to HEADLINE operate a greener HERE fleet AS TIGHT AS POSS

Sustainability and efficiency have become hot topics at the moment, following the government’s recent Clean Air Plan announcement, which includes proposals to ban pure petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040

Beverley Wise

Written by Advertisement Feature

Udae nonsend icidisquid facepro Sustainability and efficiency have beenquam elisimincim operative, based on who et will et, arrivesed quodi blaborum ut molorem noswith eumque laboribus important topics on the business agenda aut ationse quickest and the least fuel consumption. for while. It is a particularly topic at et aquoditiat dolo quihotde volecab orerisqui nitibusdae nullacianti the moment, following the government’s Better drivers deliver big rewards rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae recent Clean Air Plan announcement, which Drivers play a significant role in determining nimus proposals earibus, ipsaest moluptatium net et included for tem the banning of fully fleet CO2 es emissions and by positively petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, a change influencing driving behaviour, swift xoxoxoxo that will affect all businesses large and small. and effective results can be achieved.

At TomTom Telematics, many of our Measurement of fuel economy (l/100km or customers to us because they are mpg) underpins potential savings in this FURTHERcome INFORMATION looking to use our technology to help area, but for change to occur, drivers must xxx reduce CO2 emissions and fuel them become aware of how this can be improved. costs and increase safety and efficiency.

Idling, speeding or simply failing to As well as wanting to be a more drive at optimum speed, for example, can responsible organisation, the financial clearly have a negative impact on fuel case for running a sustainable fleet for consumption. Similarly, harsh cornering them is without doubt a strong one. or braking, failing to take the foot off the Whilst considering longer term, strategic, accelerator when approaching junctions or decisions like replacing all diesel LCVs roundabouts or failing to shift gear at the with electric or hybrid vehicles, most right time will also increase fuel usage and companies we talk to are currently GHG emissions. In addition, such driving focusing on managing their existing fleet characteristics will negatively impact driver in the most cost-efficient manner. safety and vehicle maintenance costs.

Telematics can be introduced to aid this Telematics technology can draw upon a process by providing intelligent fleet data wide range of actionable data, taking live and digitising business processes. information directly from vehicles to measure To achieve their desired objectives individual drivers and profile an entire fleet. however, organisations must give significant Today’s advanced systems will automatically forethought to the information they want provide this information to managers in from these technologies, along with a robust real time and in easy-to-read reports. plan to act upon the intelligence provided.

With such data at their fingertips, Telematics technology collects and companies can quickly identify trends or produces billions of megabytes of data problem areas, allowing efficient driving – and the type of business you run will to be rewarded or driver training to be dictate which data is most useful. provided where it is most needed.

There are three key areas of insight that are commonly used by all types of businesses, Proper maintenance helps however, to empower good decision see instant results making and help positively impact green Ensuring vehicles are properly and regularly and efficiency goals and improve maintained can also be an influencing business fleet performance. factor on carbon, operational and financial efficiency, not to mention employee safety.

Data on vehicle use Clogged air filters and poorly tuned engines By focusing on how vehicles are used, can reduce mpg, while fitting the right immediate results can be delivered no matter tyres, inflated to the correct pressures, can the size, nature and make-up of a fleet. also cut fuel consumption significantly.

Implementation of smart job allocation Organisations should have a strict vehicle and scheduling can help reduce servicing and maintenance schedule, overall mileage and carbon footprint. with drivers conducting routine vehicle Dispatching the most appropriate checks to ensure issues such as low tyre mobile workers to jobs requires accurate pressure or broken lights are identified management information. at the earliest possible opportunity.

This will range from assessing the Logs should be kept of vehicle checks urgency and priority of jobs to the location so it is clear how regularly they are being of employees and traffic flow en route. conducted. Technology can help digitise this Advanced telematics systems enable process, with driver terminals available that drivers and the back office to make will host apps specifically designed to carry smart business decisions. Jobs can be out such tasks. These terminals can integrate allocated to the most appropriate field with telematics platforms to help improve

Beverley Wise, Sales Director UK & Ireland for TomTom Telematics, has more than 20 years’ experience in the fleet industry.

The former Corporate Sales Director at Lex Autolease joined TomTom Telematics in 2016. She is responsible for spearheading the growth of TomTom Telematics’ within the UK. business workflow and provide an audit trail.

Advanced fleet management solutions, such as TomTom Telematics’ own WEBFLEET can also provide insight into how vehicles are performing by reporting fault codes directly from their engines. If a vehicle is low on oil or has an engine fault, management can be immediately notified to help ensure problems are quickly fixed.

The solution for smarter working Like any initiative which sets out on a long‑term road to improvement, running a green fleet relies upon accurate operational data to enable companies, large and small, to be in full control of their green policies.

Such data provides transparency and proof that improvements in environmental performance are being achieved.

Advanced telematics systems can provide businesses with the information insights needed to bring about sustained environmental and financial improvements. This information can be delivered in clear, easy-to-access formats, to everyone in a company that needs it to make performance gains and smart, informed, business decisions. L FURTHER INFORMATION To find out how TomTom Telematics can help, contact 0208 822 3605 or visit telematics.tomtom.com

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

29

Making sense of the vast amount of data produced from telematics can often be daunting, resulting in opportunities being missed and actions not being taken. Our expert panelists share their advice on how to make sure valuable fleet information is not getting lost

Rhys Harrhy, telematics product manager, ALD Automotive Rhys specialises in the development of future mobility solutions and is responsible for ALD’s in-house international telematics proposition, ProFleet. Rhys and the telematics team work closely with businesses to manage key fleet challenges such as cost control, risk management, environmental impact and operational efficiency.

David Cooper, managing director, Arnold Clark Vehicle Management With over 20 years of experience at Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd, David’s top priorities are keeping both customers and employees happy. In the future David plans to continue investing in technology to improve customers’ digital experience throughout the group.

Around sixty-five per cent of businesses and organisations now use telematics, according to last year’s RAC Telematics report. And in a technology-driven world, this is set to increase. Whilst this is no doubt having a positive affect for fleet operations in terms of improving efficiencies, safety and reducing costs, increased data can also pose a challenge to companies – ‘data overload’.

Making sense of the vast amount of data produced can often be daunting, resulting in opportunities being missed and actions not being taken.

Rhys Harrhy from ALD Automotive explains the problem: “Today companies are faced with a sometimes overwhelming amount of information, feeding in from a number of different systems, in different formats and

30

Rob Mills, sales operation manager, Daimler Fleet Management Rob has 30 years’ industry experience, with the last 20 being with Daimler in various management roles across both the Daimler Fleet Management & CharterWay (van & truck) divisions. He currently heads up the sales operations function covering pricing & risk management, plus consultative support to sales management.

from different devices. Processing this data can often feel like a full time job and many businesses understandably lack the appetite, time and resource to dedicate to it.”

So what advice do our panelists have for fleet managers in this situation?

According to David Cooper from Arnold Clark Vehicle Management, the first step should be for fleet managers to clearly define the challenges that they face and what they are trying to achieve with any form of telematics.

Another initial step, according to Rob Mills from Daimler Fleet Management, is to understand what is actually useful information, and what is simply fleet data.

Rob explains: “A well-run fleet will produce data that confirms that the fleet is being well run. That in itself is useful data however real

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Chris Salmon, commercial director, SG Fleet UK Chris has spent the past 15 years working in senior roles within the leasing and fleet management industry.

Leading sales & customer service teams have been the cornerstone of Chris’s success along with bringing new innovative solutions to the marketplace and reinventing current practices to enhance efficiency.

life fleet information should highlight areas of concern when drivers and/or vehicles are not performing to an acceptable standard, and where areas such as fleet risk and fleet performance need to be looked into further.”

ALD’s Rhys Harrhy agrees with this, and adds: “Rather than a catch-all approach that looks to measure every bit of data, companies will benefit more from working out what information is most important to them in achieving their objectives and focusing their efforts in these areas.”

Digestible data Once an organisation knows what it wants to achieve from telematics, the way the information is presented is crucial if it is to be any benefit. Chris Salmon from SG Fleet

Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Expert Panel: Leasing

EXPERT PANEL LEASING

The risk of doing nothing What happens if telematics data flags up dangerous driving from a member of staff, and the company turns a blind eye and does nothing? All panelists strongly agree that doing nothing is a huge risk, from a safety, legislative and cost point of view.

Chris Salmon from SG Fleet says: “From a corporate duty of care perspective, if an organisation ‘knows’ about a driver who is driving poorly or dangerously, then they have to act. At best they are suffering increased costs through fuel usage and pushing up their carbon footprint, but at worst they run the risk of injury to one or more of their employees with associated costs or injury/damage to third parties. Ultimately there is the very real risk of a corporate manslaughter conviction.”

Chris is referring to the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which means companies can be found guilty should their staff be killed whilst driving for work, if there is evidence that there was a “gross breach of duty of care”. What’s more, in February 2016, tougher sentences were introduced for those found guilty of the crime.

Companies and organisations must therefore demonstrate that they are actively assessing the risks involved with driving for work, such as driver hours and journeys, and make sure they act on any information that flags up safety issues.

David Cooper says: “Any evidence of poor driving taken from telematics data should be taken very seriously, even if there is no specific legal obligation to report this.

Companies must act on any data showing poor driving and the absolute minimum

response should be further staff training and close monitoring of the situation.”

David adds: “Police have the right to seize telematics data using a court order. If this reveals any evidence that a driver posed a risk to others and no corporate action was taken, this will have serious consequences.”

Rhys Harrhy from ALD Automotive says: “Using the data to identify opportunities for training and improvement will help them to reduce the risk of accidents caused by poor driving, while enabling them to demonstrate a duty of care to their drivers. This is particularly relevant now that companies can face Corporate Manslaughter charges should a death occur as a result of a lack of duty of care.”

Rob Mills from Daimler Fleet Management also emphasises the need for companies to educate drivers on the dangers of driving while at work. He says: “When drivers are speeding or operating recklessly, they are wasting fuel and increasing the risk of a crash, which on top of the potential loss of life and injury consequences, the cost in monetary terms could be huge, where one single accident could easily cost million’s for the company at fault.”

it will be used is therefore crucial to gaining consent. The data an organisation holds on customers is also covered under the GDPR. Rhys Harrhy from ALD Automotive says: “Transparency really is key when it comes to telematics and fleet managers must be absolutely clear with their drivers from the outset about why they are collecting specific vehicle journey data. This should involve the implementation of a clear policy that details exactly what data is collected, which data is shared with their employer and for what purposes the data will be used – e.g. to monitor and reduce CO2 emissions across the fleet, or as a tool to accurately measure fuel costs, for instance.

“Employers also have an ongoing responsibility to ensure that the need to collect data about their employees remains relevant, so regular reviews of the policy should be implemented in line with company objectives.”

Chris Salmons picks up on the subject of consent, saying: “Employees will need to explicitly authorise the use of data which can identify them. It is therefore likely that such authorisations will have to be revisited and the wording refreshed to comply with GDPR.” Rob mills warns that the Information New data protection rules Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has already Another change affecting the fleet industry been looking closely at data breaches is the new General Data Protection and issued a number of fines relating to Regulation (GDPR), which replaces the consent. He says: “Given the reputational Data Protection Act, and will include the damage and sanctions the GDPR will bring, data gathered from telematics. It comes it is important fleet operators act soon into force in May 2018 and applies to to ensure compliance going forward.” everyone that handles and processes data, David Cooper from Arnold Clark across the whole supply chain. says: “Fleet operators should The new rules give more rights familiarise themselves e Onc to the individual in terms of with GDPR and w o n k access to data and consent ensure that all key u o y ant of usage. Individuals must stakeholders are w u o y give consent to share their appropriately what ve from e i h data and it must be given briefed on their c a y a o t w e h t in an “unambiguous” responsibilities. , s ic way – meaning a tick box Fleet managers are, telematormation is f would not do. Explaining in part, responsible n l i a i e th s cruc i to drivers why data is for ensuring that d e t n prese gathered and exactly how a data subject is  be any

Expert Panel: Leasing

says: “A good supplier should be able to create summary data views and allow the fleet manager to look at exceptions rather than having to scan through reams of data – it is the exceptions that need the focus.”

Rhys Harrhy from ALD Automotive adds that “telematics systems that can aggregate information and present it in a simplified and digestible format will be invaluable to fleets struggling with a data overload”.

if it is to efit ben

31

Expert Panel: Leasing

Expert final thoughts Rhys Harrhy More than ever, fleet managers will need to be aware of the challenges that the propagation of data brings with it and they should look to work with trusted providers who take data security seriously. Whilst the onus is on the manufacturers to ensure the protection of data and vehicle security/vehicle hacking, fleet managers should continue to adopt best practice when it comes to data security. This will include simple things like ensuring the confidentiality of passwords and encrypting data files.

David Cooper Anything that is connected to the internet is vulnerable to hacking and that includes smart vehicles. It’s vital that fleet operators have clear policies in place to ensure that every connected device is regularly updated and that all staff are properly briefed on the correct procedures to keep data secure. All parties involved, from fleet operators to leasing companies, must work together to ensure all systems are secure.

Rob Mills To keep pace with the modern digital landscape and increase in consumer rights, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will provide a much needed enhancement to existing data protection and privacy legislation in the UK. As such, the changes are complex and likely to require significant enhancements to the way business is conducted and personal information is processed. Given the reputational damage and sanctions the GDPR will bring, it is important fleet operators act soon to ensure compliance going forward.

Chris Salmon Under the GDPR, employees will need to explicitly authorise the use of data which can identify them. It is therefore likely that such authorisations will have to be revisited and the wording refreshed to comply with the legislation. Particular attention will be needed to ensure all personal data is removed from vehicles and their hosted services at the end of a contract by that individual.

Sometimes the individual is the only person who is able to do this.

32

 given the appropriate level of protection in line with the principles of data protection.”

Chris Salmon from SG Fleet highlights another potential challenge with regards to GDPR compliance. He says: “Particular attention will be needed to ensure all personal data is removed from vehicles and their hosted services at the end of a contract / vehicle use by that individual, which is very tricky. Sometimes the individual is the only person who is able to do this, so some emphasis has to be placed on them.”

Vehicle hacking Smart vehicles are increasingly becoming available and allow drivers to access maps, travel information and new digital radio services. But while smart cars and vans offer new services for drivers, it is feared would-be hackers could target them to access personal data, steal cars that use keyless entry, or even take control of technology for malicious reasons.

To help prevent this from occurring, the Department for Transport has announced new guidance for engineers so that new smart vehicles will have tougher cyber protections from hacking.

Hacking is a relatively new challenge for fleet operators, and we ask our panel what sorts of problems this crime could cause fleet operators.

Rob Mills from Daimler Fleet Management says: “Hacking is becoming more of an issue for fleet operators. Cyber criminals could target vehicles and then block the tracking devices on the vehicles so they can’t be traced when stolen. Another example is once systems are hacked, criminals are also disrupting delivery schedules, with vans disappearing from the tracking system, then appearing in locations they aren’t actually in. This can be a huge issue for delivery companies. There are also examples of criminals taking control of vehicles by sending data to the internet‑connected entertainment and navigation systems via a mobile-phone network.”

Chris Salmon from SG Fleet explains some other issues that can arise from hacking.

“Other than vehicle theft, a criminal could track the vehicle to determine usage patterns,

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

such as when a driver leaves home, therefore knowing when property is unoccupied for a burglary. A hacker could also cause accidents by forcing the failure of a vehicle.

What’s more, a competitor could track your activities and in-vehicle communications and use it to their advantage.”

In order to safeguard fleet operations against vehicle hacking, David Cooper from Arnold Clark urges fleet operators to have clear policies in place to ensure that every connected device is regularly updated and that all staff are properly briefed on the correct procedures to keep data secure. He adds: “All parties involved, from fleet operators to leasing companies, must work together to ensure all systems are secure across the board.”

Rhys Harrhy from ALD Automotive says: “Whilst the onus is on the manufacturers to ensure the protection of data and vehicle security/vehicle hacking, fleet managers should continue to adopt best practice when it comes to data security. This will include simple things like ensuring the confidentiality of passwords and encrypting data files.”

David Cooper highlights other ways companies can prevent data breaches, such as “being cautious of plugging USB drives into your computers or smart vehicles, not connecting to unknown Wi-Fi hotspots, only using trusted connections, and ensuring that your device software gets regular updates and patches”.

Chris Salmon advises to treat vehicles like computers by “updating firmware and software when advised, keeping security information safe, and changing authentication regularly”.

David Cooper from Arnold Clark Vehicle Management explains what companies can do to protect any systems they develop. He says: “Fleet companies can prevent hacking technically when developing new systems by following the ‘data protection by design and default’ model, which is advocated by Article 25 of GDPR. This model promotes the idea that security should be the main priority when developing new systems and each component of development should be scored according to risk. If the risk seems high then additional measures are employed to mitigate those risks to an acceptable level.” L

services for fleets of 20 or more cars and xoxoxoxo vans.

However, while most suppliers deliver a set of pre-selected, standard products, DFM works with their customers to create FURTHER INFORMATION bespoke solutions that drive greater efficiency. xxx flexibility extends to the vehicles they This provide too; DFM will recommend and fund any make or model – whatever is the best choice for the customer’s business.

It is a truly multi marque solution.

Customers benefit from a dedicated account manager, who takes a collaborative approach and will start by understanding their business challenges before recommending a solution that saves money, reduces downtime, and meets environmental targets.

A makeover for Crown Paints One of the biggest names in the decorating industry Crown Paints has given its merchandising team a high quality, professional makeover by setting them on the road in its first Mercedes-Benz vans.

DFM had been working with Crown for the last eight years and in 2016 was awarded sole responsibility for funding and managing its high-profile customer’s entire fleet of 170 cars, as well as its 130 vans.

wide-ranging analysis of its requirements.

DFM fleet sales manager Scott Chambers made a compelling whole-life cost case for the Mercedes-Benz vans, which was then corroborated by the week-long trials of two demonstration vehicles he arranged for members of his customer’s team. This recommendation was based on Crown’s top priorities – reducing their environmental impact while still getting excellent value for money.

The Mercedes-Benz Citan range incorporates a number of fuel-saving BlueEfficiency measures as standard, including the ECO start/stop function, low rolling resistance tyres and optimised alternator and battery management systems.

After taking Crown’s downtime expenditure into account, DFM also offered to provide replacement vehicles when one of Crown’s suffers a breakdown and is not back on the road within an agreed timeframe.

This typifies DFM’s approach: instead of asking Crown which products they wanted, they worked with them to find out how they could make their fleet more efficient – then carried out the steps necessary to make it a reality.

Written by

Daimler Fleet Management (DFM) is challenging theetconventional approach Udae nonsend icidisquid quam elisimincim facepro et, sed to fleet management – and it’s doing so with considerable success quodi blaborum ut molorem aut ationse nos eumque laboribus et quoditiat dolo qui de volecab orerisqui nitibusdae nullacianti rest, sitiatis ut idem quodi consequat facimagnime pernatemquae Care and attention Crown commissioned 15 Citans after Like many fleet management companies, nimus moluptatium es net et For Tricia Wolfe, general manager at DFM, this DFM undertook a thorough and DFM offersearibus, funding andtem fleet ipsaest management

Advertisement Feature ADVERTORIAL

The spirit 800 WORD ofEDIT invention is HEADLINE alive and well HERE at Daimler AS TIGHT Fleet Management AS POSS ability to start off with a blank sheet of paper and build new solutions that drive efficiency for clients has become second nature. When asked about DFM’s approach, she said: “It’s all about care and attention. Our specialist team build trust with our customers by listening to their needs, and taking a realistic view of their existing fleet.

That means asking the right questions – questions that get to the bottom of where their inefficiencies are, and finding out what will work for them.”

“After we’ve defined the strategic approach, we drill down into more detail.

We’ll analyse everything from whole life costs to C02 emissions before we make our recommendations – considering every make and model available until we find the most appropriate fleet structure. Through our experience and innovative approach, we’ll often find savings in unexpected areas.”

Once the fleet is in place, DFM continues to monitor the vehicles to ensure they’re as efficient as possible – all with the aim of reducing downtime and fleet spend.

Whether it’s speed of response, a wider range of services, or a combination of both, DFM identifies the issue, and delivers solutions that create a better fleet for their clients.

The future DFM recently strengthened its offering further when parent company, Daimler, acquired European leasing and mobility experts, Athlon – a move that extends their cover across the whole of Europe with a combined portfolio in excess of 350,000 units. With their expertise, experience and innovative approach firmly in place, DFM is set to go from strength to strength.

Take the challenge DFM are challenging fleet decision makers to spend just 60 seconds telling them their most important objective. Whether it’s reducing C02 emissions, cutting total cost of ownership, improving vehicle reliability, or enhancing employee retention. Visit daimlersixty.co.uk now to take part. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.daimlersixty.com

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

33

Industry Comment Advertisement Feature

34

The AA’s long motoring heritage As a fully rounded fleet supplier and operator one of the UK’s largest operational fleets, the AA understands what is required to help customers keep their fleets running efficiently and effectively. Stuart Thomas explains how The AA offers Roadside Assistance to vehicles ranging from motorbikes right up to HGVs of 44T GVW and for fleet sizes from one single vehicle to hundreds of thousands. Cover is 24/7/365 nationwide and the AA also provides European Breakdown Cover for fleets, with full English-speaking operator service/ liaison.

We can also issue VE103 documentation where drivers wish to take their company‑owned or leased vehicles overseas.

For business critical fleets such as emergency service providers, utility companies, cash‑carrying vehicles and military vehicles, the AA providers tailored incident management. We also offer bespoke Management Information, including live online access to real-time breakdown incidents for all of our larger fleet customers.

Our tailored approach to breakdown provision for larger customers means that we can offer onward billing, for example, enabling vehicles rental companies to charge their customers for driver induced faults we have attended (lost keys, misfuelling etc).

Smaller fleets benefit from a range of breakdown packages comprising roadside, recovery and onward travel options as well as whole fleet cover in Europe and Breakdown Repair Cover – with specific services for specialist vehicles and minibuses.

All fleet breakdown packages are available for online purchase and some aspects of account management 24 hours a day.

For specific motor manufacturer customers, the AA employs dedicated technicians with the same on-board diagnostics and tools that would be available at a manufacturer’s main dealer network, leading to better roadside repair rate and higher customer satisfaction.

Alongside our core breakdown provision, the AA also provides a wealth of additional services both relevant and specific to fleets.

Supporting the roadside operation are our mobile fleets providing glass repair and replacement, fuel retrieval, key replacement (including cutting and programming of electronic keys and erasing of the missing/ broken keys) and battery replacement.

Our comprehensive Accident Management service includes driver rehabilitation as well as vehicle recovery and repair. Via AA DriveTech, we provide a full range of Driver Training Services and Risk Management Solutions The AA’s 100+ years of motoring heritage enables us to support our fleet customers wherever possible with technical advice for their drivers (for example summer/ winter driving tips, vehicle maintenance

checks and essential vehicle model information for user/ choosers) as well as support at fleet roadshows and head offices where the AA can undertake windscreen chip checks, tyre checks and basic vehicle maintenance demonstrations.

As part of the AA’s commitment to supporting the whole life cycle of a fleet vehicle, we also provide Vehicle Inspections both at point of purchase and end-of-life, helping to raise standards of independent garage networks and to maximise residual values.

Finally, the AA’s broad range of fleet services also cover options for fuel cards, telematics and fleet insurance.

Investing in Innovation The AA’s award-winning breakdown app includes our route planner and traffic data, as well as vehicle reminders for MOT, tax, insurance and service dates. And we’ve added enhanced features for all AA members – including fuel prices, our parking-space finder and dashboard warning lights information.

The app has already been downloaded by millions of personal members and all of this member functionality will soon be available for our fleet customers.

Most excitingly, the launch of the app for our fleet customers will give their drivers access to the AA’s Rescue Tracker, allowing roadside incidents to be reported and monitored via the app, with real-time patrol tracking and no need to call. GPS technology pinpoints the breakdown location accurately and assists in swift dispatch of an appropriate resource.

In recent years we have launched and expanded our garage and vehicle inspections services, growing our existing account with BCA and winning the major Motor Codes business. This means that we are able to work closely with the SMMT, dealer networks and other major bodies to enhance the quality of service drivers receive at garages whether they are a franchised dealer or an independent garage.

Our inspections cover areas such as quality of work carried out; staff training; charges for work; health and safety; equipment and its safe use; customer facilities; appearance of premises and staff. Garages which meet our strict criteria and pass the inspection are able to display the joint Motor Codes and AA certification, thereby giving customers and fleets the reassurance of our trusted brand and the quality they will receive.

Garages which do not meet the criteria

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Stuart Thomas

Stuart Thomas, head of fleet and SME – The AA

are given detailed guidance and advice on how to improve so that when we make our follow-up inspection they can ensure they meet and maintain the required standards.

Prioritising partnership We have worked with some of our partner organisations to develop exclusive, innovative deals for SME customers, enabling them to benefit from our larger business relationships.

We have also set up exclusive offers for SME customers using AA Fleet Intelligence and also competitive driver licence checking services through IDS – both services which would normally be more commercially advantageous towards larger fleets.

As a fully rounded fleet supplier and operator one of the UK’s largest operational fleets, the AA is best-placed to provide everything required to help customers keep their fleets running efficiently and effectively.

The AA’s many relationships with motor manufacturers enables us continuously to improve our roadside repair capability.

This is enhanced via tailored MI, enhanced tooling and equipment, patrol training and specialist services for driver-induced issues.

We pride ourselves on focusing what is appropriate to the driver/ customer and recognising that one size does not fit all. L FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 551188 Stuart.Thomas@theAA.com

www.greenfleet.net

In association with

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS Featuring local authority air quality plans, steps to a better grey fleet, updates from the Crown Commercial Service on procurement, and advice on how to run a mini competition during a tender

ISSUE 107

Public Sector Focus

In association with

www.greenfleet.net

In association with

PUBLIC SECTOR FOCUS Featuring local authority air quality plans, steps to a better grey fleet, updates from the Crown Commercial Service on procurement, and advice on how to run a mini competition during a tender

ISSUE 107

A focus on public fleets The UK public sector fleet is vast and diverse, spanning police, fire services, healthcare, maintenance vehicles, and council fleets. Public sector fleet managers face scrutiny over their spending, and have to demonstrate value for money, whilst making sure vehicles are fit for purpose.

The public sector is also expected to lead the way when it comes to driving greener vehicles. Many public fleets have done this successfully, taking on a range of zero or ultra-low emission vehicles.

Now the public sector faces another challenge. The government’s Clean Air Strategy has made it the responsibility of local authorities to clean up the air quality in their areas. Five cities have been ordered to operate Clean Air Zones by 2020, as well as consider changing road layouts, removing traffic lights and speed humps, and upgrading bus fleets.

Whilst there is a £255 million set aside from the government to help councils implement such plans, environmental law firm ClientEarth has accused the government of “passing the buck” to local authorities. What’s more Council leaders from Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Southampton, Leicester and Oxford have written to environment secretary Michael Gove, calling for specific actions that will allow them to meet the legal limits of air pollution.

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @GreenFleetNews

This public sector themed issue of GreenFleet looks at what councils are doing to tackle air pollution, how they can reduce their grey fleet, and how they can approach procurement to get the best value for money.

Angela Pisanu, editor editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE-TO-FACE If you would like to receive 10 issues of GreenFleet magazine for £200 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 GreenFleet® would like to thank the following organisations for their support:

PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Angela Pisanu EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Andrea Pluck FEATURES AND ROAD TEST EDITOR Richard Gooding PRODUCTION DESIGN Jo Golding PRODUCTION CONTROL Ella Sawtell WEB PRODUCTION Victoria Casey PUBLISHER George Petrou ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kylie Glover, Dean Cassar ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins, Charlotte Casey REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

Printed on recycled paper

© 2017 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1471-3713

GreenFleet is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact Michael Lyons or Angela Pisanu on 0208 532 0055. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

38

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

The last 12 months have been very good xoxoxoxo for FCA within the Public Sector. Indeed, sales have increased by 33.7 per cent and the company is looking to further FURTHER INFORMATION grow this success with a blend of key xxx models offering excellent BIK, whole new life running costs and low CO2 figures, coupled with first class customer service.

We are well aware of the pressures the Public Sector are under when it comes to expenditure, demonstrating best practice and proving that they are spending tax payers’ money wisely as they try to solve their transport issues with economical and money-saving decisions.

And because of this, FCA’s multi-brand fleet packages and support networks are proving to be of real appeal to Public Sector fleets, because they remove the problem of having to find a transport solution that will cover their precise, bespoke needs, at competitive rates in line with their budgets – while always maintaining exceptional value.

With style, world-class design, technology, and no AdBlue required on FCA diesel‑powered cars, the brand’s range has something to offer all fleets, large and small.

Two cars which have particularly caught the interest of the Public Sector fleet managers are the Fiat Tipo and Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Fiat Tipo Tipo’s main business-specific model is the Elite 1.6 120hp. Packed with standard equipment the Elite features alloy wheels, air conditioning, 5-inch touchscreen DAB radio with navigation and Uconnect™ LIVE services.

Its safety credentials are enhanced by six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). And with C-segment boot space for B-segment money, it truly represents value for money. Fitted with a 1.6 MultiJet II diesel turbo engine, the Fiat Tipo Elite returns 83.1mpg and has a CO2 level of just 89g/km.

Alfa Romeo Giulia The popular new Giulia range already comes with a business specific model – Giulia Tecnica, which offers a high level of equipment and specification but with excellent fuel economy and overall efficiency. The car’s 2.2-litre 150bhp or 180bhp diesel turbo engine delivers

67.3mpg and a CO2 level of just 109g/km.

Safety is paramount in all Giulia models – the range achieved a top five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests with a 98 per cent adult occupation protection score, the highest achieved by a car. The Neil Tecnica is designed McNicholl specifically with business National Public users in mind and has features such as Alfa Sector & Motability Connect infotainment Manager with live traffic updates FCA for long journey-makers.

Alfa Giulia has already proved itself to be a popular and sought-after car, and has received critical acclaim from customers, and the media alike. This year it took the ‘Game Changer’ award at the Autocar Awards.

Emergency services fleets FCA does a large amount of business with the ambulance service both in fast response, front line ambulances and also within the Patient Transport Services (PTS) – we predominantly supply Ducato-based emergency vehicles with the ambulance ‘pod’ already supplied and fitted, ready for trusts and ambulance services to customise to their specific requirements.

We are now starting to lead in the field and have a number of important advantages which make the Ducato a top choice for health trusts and services which are all trying to drive down costs, looking to get as economical and efficient as possible. Fiat Ducato ambulances are all capable of carrying 4.2 tonnes of weight – enough for a fully equipped emergency ambulance and they are AdBlue free, which offers a considerable saving in terms of weight and cost.

Fire and Rescue services have also recognised the benefit of FCA’s 4x4 architecture and several police operations have been looking at using them as covert vehicles as well as more performance models for high speed work, particularly from the Alfa Romeo range.

Written by Neil McNicholl, FCA national public sector & motability manager

As a brand that has enjoyed huge success in terms of private and fleet sales, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is proud to sponsor the first Greenfleet Public Sector supplement. It is, of course, a large and important sector of the market and one in which FCA has not only seen considerable recent success, but has plans to increase its share in the coming months and years

Public Sector Focus ADVERTORIAL

FCA WORD 800 is proudEDIT to sponsor HEADLINE HERE Greenfleet’s Public AS TIGHT Sector supplement AS POSS

demonstrates our commitment to serving fleets of any size and shows how much we care about the environment, green motoring in general, and the advancement of green issues.

Francis Bleasdale, Fleet and Remarketing Director, FCA UK says: “The fleet business is very important to us and we want to ensure that we are always at the forefront of fleet customers’ minds when they are considering their next cars.

“One of the things that we offer is a broad range of vehicles – this has, for some years, helped us to develop our fleet proposition. So whether you are looking for a fully equipped ambulance for front line service, or a city car such as a Fiat 500 for a midwife or district nurse, there will be something in the FCA UK range to satisfy that need. And it will be as economical and as environmentally‑friendly as we can possibly make it.” L FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0808 168 7152 alfaromeo.fleet@alfaromeo.com

Sponsorship of Greenfleet Public Service supplement FCA is delighted to sponsor the first Greenfleet Public Service supplement. It

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

39

Air Quality Written by Andrea Pluck

In association with

Improving air quality across the UK Local authorities across the UK are being asked to produce plans by the end of the year on how they intend to bring air pollution levels down. GreenFleet’s Andrea Pluck looks at the actions council’s are taking in order to comply with the government’s air quality aims The government has released its strategy on how to tackle high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the UK, a pollutant that causes harm to public health. The ‘UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations’, produced

by Defra and the Department for Transport (DfT) outlines how councils with the worst levels or air pollution must take action.

This is just one part of the government programme to deliver clean air, as next year, a Clean Air Strategy will be released which will address other sources of air pollution.

The government will help towns and cities by providing £255 million to implement plans, in addition to the £2.7 billion that is already being invested.

Actions include changing road layouts to reduce congestion, encouraging the take-up of electric vehicles and retrofitting public transport.

In addition, a £40 million Clean Bus Technology Fund grant scheme is available which aims to limit emissions from up to 2,350 older buses.

Despite the funding available to councils, environmental lawyers ClientEarth, have stated that the government’s air quality plans pass responsibility onto 23 local authorities in England to find a solution to the air pollution crisis, yet offer little detail on how air quality will be improved.

ClientEarth lawyer, Anna Heslop, said that the firm was “extremely disappointed with the plans when they came out” and that the government “pass the buck to local authorities and leave some major questions about process and funding”.

In addition to this, proposals are being made for a mandatory Clean Air Zone (CAZ) in five cities where air quality is the poorest (Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton). The zones are expected to be implemented by 2020.

GreenFleet looks at the actions that council’s are taking in order to comply with the government’s air quality aims.

Leeds Leeds City Council has been implementing many changes to lower levels of pollution.

Since being identified as one of six locations in England that would require a (Clean Air Zone) by 2020, the council has switched 70 of its fleet over to zero or ultra-low emission electric vehicles and have extended its free parking offer to owners of low emission vehicles

40

at all council-run car parks or on‑street parking bays until at least March 2018.

Leeds has also opened the £29m Cycle Superhighway, a cycle route linking Bradford and Leeds, encouraging commuters to cycle rather than drive to work.

In addition to this, the council is currently planning the creation of an alternative fuel station, which would allow them to convert 180 fleet vans to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), including 70 refuse collection trucks.

Furthermore, Cenex and Leeds City Council have jointly launched project ACCRA, which will explore Smart City technology applications

that demonstrate real-time emissions control.

This uses live air quality data to trigger electric hybrid engines to automatically switch to zero‑emission running in heavily polluted areas.

The project will be demonstrated in Leeds and aims to offer cities a way to reduce urban air pollution without additional charges to motorists or businesses.

Plans to improve three key road junctions in the area in order to tackle congestion and improve air quality is soon to be discussed by senior councillors.

The three junctions are all key areas for improving traffic, bus, cycling and pedestrian flow and are also considered important for future housing growth and economic development.

Dundee UK and Scottish air quality legislation place a number of duties on all local authorities.

These include monitoring outside air for

Southampton Southampton is one of five UK cities to implement a CAZ by 2020 to discourage most polluting vehicles entering the city through the levying of a penalty charge.

In addition to this, the council has completed a scrutiny inquiry into Air Quality

Next year, the government will help towns and cities by providing £255 million to implement plans to tackle air pollution in order to develop understanding of the issues of air quality in the area and identify additional steps which can be taken.

The Clean Air Strategy for Southampton 2016-2025 shows that the council plans to improve transport and freight delivery systems through efficient infrastructure; increase the uptake of new and innovative technologies; and increase the uptake of public transport, cycling and walking.

In addition, the strategy reveals that the council plans to develop a Clean Air Partnership with key stakeholders in the city and region; continue to promote sustainable travel through maintaining the “My Journey” campaign; and implement schemes to support taxi operators, other businesses and public services in reducing the emissions relating to their activities.

Southampton City Council also put out a survey to seek the views of taxi and private hire vehicle operators to find out what funding would be necessary to help replace the most polluting vehicles with low emission alternatives.

Air Quality

various pollutants of concern such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10).

The concentrations measured in Dundee means that the whole of the council has been declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) for both NO2 and PM10.

Therefore, Dundee has put in place an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) which aims to improve air quality in the areas of concern.

Measures such as exploring the provision of Park and Ride facilities; developing cycling strategies; installing electric charging facilities in car parks; and developing a fleet management plan to improve fuel efficiency are part of the proposals.

In addition to this, Dundee City Council has implemented ECO STARS Dundee. It is a free environmental recognition scheme which rates individual vehicles and overall fleet operations on their levels of environmental performance.

The scheme has been set up to help fleet operators improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and emissions in order to improve local air quality while making cost savings.

Birmingham Birmingham is another city that has been instructed to have a Clean Air Zone. Whilst the planning of how the zone will operate is in progress, the council has put in place other measures to improve air quality. Sixty‑five of Birmingham’s black cabs have been fitted with LPG and are Euro 6 compliant, meaning they will be able to enter the Clean Air Zone without being charged. The council has recently won funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to introduce 197 electric taxi charging points, all of which will offer fast or rapid charging facilities for cabs and private hire vehicles.

Birmingham also aims to make cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham over the next 20 years. We want five per cent of all trips in the city to be made by bike by 2023 and to double this again to ten per cent by 2033. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.gov.uk/government/ publications/air-quality-plan-fornitrogen-dioxide-no2-in-uk-2017

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

41

Public Sector Focus

In association with

Removing the grey area of your fleet

Written by Andrew Benfield, director of transport, EST

It is estimated that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles are driven in the public sector each year, at a cost of £786 million. The Energy Saving Trust’s Andrew Benfield shares some steps to a better grey fleet

42

Grey fleets have long been the problem child for many fleet managers. Not only is there an aptly named ‘grey area’ surrounding what constitutes a grey fleet, but there is also the time consuming and sometimes neglected responsibilities associated with their management.

Firstly, what is a grey fleet? Simply, it is any vehicle, owned by an employee who uses it for business travel. It is notoriously difficult to calculate the number of grey fleet vehicles on UK roads because, unlike company cars, there is no requirement to provide records of the

vehicles in which journeys are made.

Getting to Grips with Grey Fleet, a report researched and written by Energy Saving Trust and published by BVRLA in 2016, estimates that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles at a cost of £786m are driven in the public sector each year, and up to 11 billion miles at a cost of up to £5bn in the private sector.

The use of 14m cars in the grey fleet is in stark contrast to the number of drivers paying benefit in kind for the use of a company car in the UK – which is a mere 960,000.

The number of vehicles in the private sector includes cash allowance cars, funded by the employer but often without any

ement Managhave a teams care to duty ofees who employ vehicle for ir use the ss purposes busine safe and to be ure sec

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

restrictions in place. As a result the report found that although younger at 5.3 years than the UK car fleet (7.9 years), they were considerably older than the average lease car (1.6 years) and had significantly higher CO2 emissions, 155g/km compared with 119g/km for the average lease car.

Effective grey fleet management Fleet managers have historically neglected the management of grey fleets.

However, with the increasing concern that they are affecting organisations both financially and environmentally, there is a realisation that effective grey fleet management is absolutely essential.

Effective grey fleet management should cover three distinct areas including, duty of care and health and safety, financial efficiency

A 2016 report by Energy Saving Trust and published by BVRLA, estimates that 1.5 billion grey fleet miles at a cost of £786m are driven in the public sector each year and up to 11 billion miles at a cost of up to £5bn in the private sector and corporate environmental responsibility.

Senior management teams have a duty of care to employees who use their vehicle for business purposes to be safe and secure on business related journeys. Similarly, firms should conduct regular driving licence checks and monitor driving offences to ensure their drivers are both qualified to drive their vehicles and are not at risk of losing their licence. Understanding the conviction rate of drivers is essential to managing on-road risk.

The financial impact of grey fleet from both an organisational and public spending point of view is estimated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to be in the region of £2.7billion per year from ‘at-work’ traffic accidents.

Simply putting in place a mileage management system to accurately record

business mileage usually pays dividends, for example if a driver rounds up a claim from eight to ten miles, this increases the cost of the journey to the organisation by 25 per cent.

If 50 employees driving an average of 2,000 each year exaggerated claims by 25 per cent it would cost an organisation an additional cost of £11,250 per year in unidentified miles.

In the public sector this cost can be even higher, with organisations often paying over the recognised Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates of 45 pence per mile (ppm) for the first 10,000 miles and 25ppm thereafter. AMAP rates cover fuel, depreciation, maintenance and insurance costs to an employee using their own car for business purposes.

Steps to a better grey fleet The Energy Saving Trust recommends that grey fleet managers take the following steps. Firstly, they should assign the responsibility of the grey fleet to someone within the fleet management team; meaning one individual is accountable.

Secondly, they should identify the current impact that the grey fleet is having on the organisation, in other words, benchmark the grey fleet. This will allow the newly appointed manager of the grey fleet to recognise the current position of the grey fleet and take steps to improve it.

The third step is to improve the accuracy of the data gathered from the grey fleet drivers.

By reviewing the mileage claiming process and tightening up on the prerequisite information required in order to submit a claim, this encourages a change in driver behaviours and transparency which can significantly reduce the financial implications placed upon a business due to mileage claim inaccuracies.

The Energy Saving Trust recently worked alongside the Derbyshire Community Health Service NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) to introduce a new way of managing its grey fleet.

At the time of the study there were 4,500 employees at the DCHS, with 2,500 of these people submitting mileage claims for using their own vehicles for business purposes.

The grey fleet solution included a pool car fleet, revision of expenses policies, introduction of alternative communication methods, and the promotion of low emission lease cars. This pool fleet has benefitted DCHS by transferring almost 75,000 miles per annum during 2015 to these cars and is currently saving over 6.5 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

Public Sector Focus

Case study: DCHS

Another way to travel Another step should be to offer alternative transport methods and incentives as a matter of course for employees; public transport, opportunities to walk and utilising pool cars where required.

Equally, encourage the use of telephone meetings and video conferencing thus reducing the requirement to travel to meetings.

Fleet consultancy support is available for public sector organisations through the Energy Saving Trust; organisations can receive a Green Fleet Review, ULEV Review or Clean Air Fleet Review depending on their needs and objectives.

The report, Getting to grips with Grey Fleet, is a great place to start, providing best practice guidance and examples of the savings possible in emissions and cost; and including best practice examples from organisations that have successfully introduced processes and policies to manage their grey fleet. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

43

Public Sector Focus Written by Kim Harrison, fleet team category lead, CCS

In association with

Procuring in the public sector The Crown Commercial Service’s Kim Harrison discusses the organisation’s recently launched Dynamic Purchasing System, which enables public sector fleet managers and buyers to access a wide range of vehicle conversion services Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the UK’s largest public procurement organisation, has just launched its first Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) – enabling public sector fleet managers and buyers to access a wide range of vehicle conversion services.

Having previously managed a framework agreement for these services, CCS has created the DPS to more closely fit with the conversions market, populated as it is by many small, local businesses and a customer base with specific demands on flexibility and simplicity.

The DPS is the latest innovation in CCS’s fleet offering.

The DPS also supports contracts for standalone vehicle design and consultancy, meaning better access to specialist services for those fleets who may be stretched for internal resources.

Using the DPS as a contracting vehicle, opportunities have been opened up to the wider supply chain, who have previously only indirectly provided services as subcontractors.

Vehicle telematics In addition to the new DPS, CCS offers a framework agreement for vehicle telematics.

Whilst it’s an area of relatively low‑cost investment, vehicle telematics are viewed by the CCS fleet team as A new way to buy – and sell the key enabler to understand where The DPS works in a very different way to the areas optimise utilisation within a traditional framework – with changes fleet, and to identify opportunities for affecting both customers and suppliers. cash-releasing and other benefits.

Customers have been demanding the CCS research suggests that, for every ability to make simple, compliant transactions £1 invested in vehicle telematics, a return with suppliers in specialist areas. of at least £3 can be achieved through a They can use the DPS to access an online combination of reduced fuel costs, decreases search function to identify those suppliers in insurance premiums, a reduction in the that offer the services and specialism they frequency and cost of vehicle damage, require. Search filters include geographic and improved risk management in location, customer sector, vehicle type, service support of an employer’s duty of care. types (including conversion, decommissioning The CCS Vehicle Telematics agreement and design) and detailed products. has multiple suppliers appointed with a Suppliers in the market can apply to range of specialities. In a fast developing, join at any time during the term, and to innovative market, the framework update their service offerings in a is deliberately flexible for ‘live’ environment as they change the suppliers to adapt n and evolve their skills. their offerings, and for o i s The DPS makes use of customers to determine Convers are e c i existing systems for supplier which area of fleet v r se suit o registration and the t e l b completion of selection availa ea of the questionnaires, allowing each artor, whether suppliers to reuse their ec company information for public s emergency future applications and it be s or local self-certify their status until service orities the point of contract award. h

aut

A wider scope The scope for this agreement is significantly wider than its predecessor, with services ranging from simple vehicle signage or internal storage, to full conversion into emergency vehicles or specialist communications equipment.

Conversion services are available to suit each area of the public sector, whether it be emergency services, local authorities or central government operations.

44

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

management they wish to target with their telematics, and the contract model they prefer.

The future The existing CCS Vehicle Purchase and Vehicle Lease & Fleet Management frameworks will be expiring in the coming 18-24 months, and will be replaced. Analysis shows that both frameworks provide excellent value, especially where customers have aggregated their requirements for vehicle purchase via the CCS eAuctions. CCS baseline the framework performance against other large UK fleets using a market comparator methodology which is currently demonstrating average savings of 11 per cent across both frameworks.

CCS is planning its next frameworks. In the coming months, the fleet team will be securing customer, supplier and general market feedback, and starting to draft future agreements.

A combined customer stakeholder group will meet in Autumn 2017 to discuss future requirements and options for contractual models. It is anticipated that the frameworks will further widen the scope of vehicle types available.

Get involved Fleet are keen to hear from its customers on any of the existing agreements or wider fleet requirements.

The team operates a Fleet Customer Forum, bringing together fleet and commercial experts from across the public sector three times a year to understand best practice, identify market trends and seek areas to deliver savings. The forum provides debate and networking opportunities, and enables the CCS Fleet team to share their market insight and to focus on key areas of interest for operational fleets.

About Crown Commercial Service CCS is tasked with ensuring that the UK public sector realises the maximum commercial benefit when procuring common goods and services – to support efficient and effective public services. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ccs-agreements.cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Top tips for running a mini competition If you work for a public sector organisation and looking to buy a single minibus, fleet of vans, specialist vehicle or other fleet services including repair, tracking and hire purchase, you’re likely to be faced with a complex and lengthy tendering process. Using a public sector framework – like those provided by YPO, a publicly-owned buying organisation – can save you significant time and money. It will also make sure you’re fully EU compliant and be tailored to your requirements.

Once you’ve decided that using a framework is the best way for you to renew or set up a new contract, you have a few tendering options open to you. One of them is to run a mini competition (also known as a further competition), between a set of pre-approved and pre-vetted suppliers.

Stage 1 – get prepared Do your research on the market or the services or goods you’re looking to source. For example, look at what’s currently available, what’s the average cost, and if there are any new innovations or changes to industry standards.

Build up a detailed description of everything you’re looking for. For example, if you’re looking to buy a fleet of mini buses, your specification should include details such as engine size, number of seats, CO2 emissions, and livery.

You also need to decide how long you want your contract with the supplier to last. Is

it a one-off purchase or are you looking for a long-term arrangement such as a four-year contract, calling off vehicles year-by-year. Remember you can include your requirements for four or more years within a single mini-competition (you’re not mandated to call-off all the vehicles).

Finally, make sure that all your stakeholders are on board – do your finance team or legal team need to be involved? If they do, it’s better to involve them as early as possible.

Stage 2 – get your documents ready As a starting point, speak to YPO. We might have a mini competition template that you can use and should find useful.

You’ll need to work out how you’re going to evaluate all the submissions from the suppliers. This is called the award criteria.

This will involve coming up with questions that will allow the suppliers to demonstrate how they’ll meet your needs. For example, questions could be tailored around quality aspects of the organisation or products or how the supplier will deliver the service to you. Try and avoid closed questions and allow the supplier to tell you how they will meet your requirements – this will allow you to award scoring that better reflects their ability to provide your needs.

To evaluate the questions, you’ll need to decide how you’re going to score them. Add a weighting which will help you identify the most important points to you.

And make sure your

One ng tenderi o run is t option mpetition o a mini ceen a set betw pproved of pre-ae-vetted and pr under a rs supplie ework fram

Stage 3 – issue your documents There’s a number of ways you can issue your documents to the suppliers: on the YPO portal; on your own procurement portal; or on email.

Send all the documents to all the suppliers on the framework that meet your requirements. This means all suppliers who are on a ‘lot’ or have responded to a ‘expression of interest‘. Please don’t assume some suppliers can or can’t meet your needs. Make sure you give the suppliers enough time to respond to your mini competition. The more time the better – as you’ll get better responses.

Give the suppliers an opportunity to ask questions. But give them a deadline to get their questions to you – usually one week before the deadline for submissions.

Stage 4 – evaluation Don’t open the submissions before the closing date – it needs to stay fair and equal. Using your own portal or the YPO portal will help with this, as it can lock them away until the deadline has passed.

Don’t deviate from the award criteria that you previously set – you could face legal challenges.

Have at least two people evaluate the answers then agree on a final score. If you can, use a moderator to review and balance the scoring.

Keep detailed notes during your evaluation and reasons for the final score so you can give feedback to the suppliers.

Written by David Nichols, procurement manager for fleet services, YPO

Running a mini competition during a tendering process can be a good way to successfully match your contract requirements with a supplier. David Nichols from public sector buying organisation YPO shares his tops tips on how to make this a success

documents or questions aren’t too long – that’s why it’s called a mini competition.

Public Sector Focus

In association with

Stage 5 – contract award You’ll now be able to identify a winner from the scores you’ve given at the evaluation stage, and it’s now time to notify all the suppliers of the result. The best way to do this is by letter. This might include details of the winner, feedback and the scores. YPO should be able to provide you with a template.

If a supplier asks for more feedback, you can do this but only if it’s related to their submission, and not any commercial details of the winner. It’s recommended you allow a 10‑day standstill period before entering into a contract with the winning supplier.

And that’s it! Once the standstill period has passed you can begin your contract with your supplier. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ypo.co.uk

45

Industry Comment Advertisement Feature

The challenge of running a public sector fleet Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Neil McNicholl looks at how today’s fleet tender looks at more than just discount levels and vehicle specifications, to consider whole-life costs, the environmental credentials of the company, and compliance with codes of practice In today’s public sector, the demand to provide the very best return on investment has never been so focal and the implementation of more commercially focused objectives are now common place. Running a fleet in the public sector is especially challenging given this requirement coupled with the levels of scrutiny every area of public sector is subject to.

Tendering for supply remains the required method for acquisition within public sector but over recent years, the criteria on the supplier selection has changed dramatically.

Historically the discount levels and specification of the fleet vehicles won the day, but today the tender document can take into consideration not only the hard upfront financials, but consideration of the whole life costs of the vehicle, the corporate philosophy of potential suppliers, investment strategies into green manufacturing and technologies, compliance with codes of practice and even employment policies.

How has FCA responded to this challenge?

Representing five major vehicle brands under the FCA Fleet and Business banner, we can offer a ‘one stop shop’ fleet solution, backed with a sustainable global corporate philosophy committed to a balanced approach that contributes to the environment and society as a whole.

At a global level, our efforts have been recognised by the world’s leading sustainability ratings agencies with over 4,400 environmental projects implemented in our factories worldwide in 2016 alone, putting FCA at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing.

At a local level within the FCA Fleet and Business department, we have a dedicated public sector team working with major health care trusts, emergency services, government, military, local governments, education authorities as well as all of the public sector supply chain.

Our team are able to respond to and support all your needs through our multi brand approach to the market.

Within the team is a dedicated TCO manager, who was appointed to scrutinise the whole life costs of every FCA vehicle.

This means working across all of the departments to ensure the specification of the products are optimised for our customer to deliver the best value in their class whilst making sure price of parts and servicing schedules are optimised and that our key partners in product valuations are

46

Neil McNicholl, FCA

Neil McNicholl is the national public sector manager at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles UK (FCA). Prior to joining FCA in 2015, Neil spent 15 years with Motability in various commercial roles. Neil has been leading the public sector team for the past two years, making significant progress in building strong partnership-based programmes with public sector bodies.

kept informed and involved in new product launches and changes to the existing range that might influence the residual value.

All of these factors combined ensure that we can build financial solutions that offer exceptional returns on investment over the life time of our products.

The results of this are evident where the Alfa Romeo Giulia – launched in late 2016 – sits within the top three in its sector for lowest total cost of ownership, above many of the market leaders.

Furthermore, the Fiat 500 has enjoyed a sustained run of being one of the lowest depreciating in its class for almost a decade making it a very sensible fleet choice. Another example is the Fiat Tipo Elite, which comes with eco pack as standard creating 89g C02/ KM but retaining a low P11D. Our progress made recently has earned FCA Fleet and Business two major industry awards, including Most Improved Fleet Manufacturer of the Year in 2017.An unprecedented achievement and one we are exceptionally proud of.

to offer a unique service of covering all of your needs through one supplier.

From the iconic Fiat 500 city car to the outstanding and award-winning Alfa Romeo Giulia through to the rugged, yet luxurious, Jeep Grand Cherokee to the hugely versatile range of Fiat Professional commercial vehicles.

FCA has a solution for every segment through five vehicle brands including Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Fiat professional. These brands are supported with financial solutions through Leasys and our branded Mopar aftersales support network of dealers.

Our comprehensive approved used car programmes, Found for Fiat and Abarth and Selected for You for Alfa Romeo and Jeep also supports our residual values.

Let us show you how you can demonstrate a strong return on investment through the selection of FCA as a robust and versatile supplier. L

The FCA Advantage Having one department managing a portfolio of brands allows FCA Fleet and Business

For more information please call the FCA Business Centre on 0808 168 6796 www.fcagroup.com

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

FURTHER INFORMATION

Arrive ‘n’ Drive Written by Andrea Pluck

Arrive ‘n’ Drive 2017 at Rockingham Motor Speedway

On 28 September, GreenFleet Arrive ‘n’ Drive will be setting up at Rockingham Motor Speedway. The event will showcase the latest in zero and ultra-low emission vehicles and technology, encouraging fleets to “go ultra-low” On 28 September, Rockingham Motor Speedway is set to host GreenFleet Arrive’n’Drive, showcasing the latest in ultra‑low emission vehicles and technology.

The event is aimed to help organisations that are concerned with excessive fuel and running costs and to encourage fleets to “go ultra-low”.

Fleet managers and professionals, as well as those responsible for their organisation’s environmental and sustainability plans, will be able to test drive a range of vehicles designed to lower harmful emissions from a number of different manufacturers in a controlled environment.

In addition to this, there will be experts available to speak to delegates about specific topics relating to ultra‑low emission vehicles, including leasing, financing and remarketing, EV recharging, telematics and much more. The event will also include a selection of workshops, addressing “green fleet management issues”, such as “clean commercial vehicles and the fight to improve air quality”.

These are all free to attend on the day.

ACFO are also set to hold their annual East and Midlands regional meeting in the

48

morning, and will then be available to all delegates in the afternoon, when conducting a workshop.

This free event, which is based in Northamptonshire, will offer breakfast and brunch, as well as all-day refreshments. Interested in joining us? Register online at www.arrivendrive.greenfleet.net

Vehicles BMW/MINI will be showcasing its new iPerformance range which brings the latest in plug-in hybrid technology to more models. The BMW i3 will be available for visitors to try out, in addition to its plug-in hybrid 330e saloon, which is capable of driving for up to 25 miles when its battery is fully charged.

New to the fleet sector is the plug-in 530e, which is set to be one of the most popular vehicles there on the day, and it will be joined by the plug-in hybrid X5, the clean 4x4, with premium style.

Other manufacturers lined up to show off their latest models includes Toyota and Lexus, which will have a full selection of hybrid models from its RAV4 to its

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Prius, which has a fuel economy of up to 94.1 mpg. Also scheduled to be there is the hydrogen‑powered Mirai.

LDV’s EV80 will also be available for delegates to take for a spin, which is now available to order in the UK. It is ideal for city journeys and has a range of 130 miles on a single charge. The high spec includes an advanced pure electric power system and an EPB system. Unveiled at this year’s CV Show, we are delighted to offer the UK fleet sector’s first ever drive of the EG10, the all-electric people carrier, set to revolutionise the “clean movement of people”.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which is continuing to lead the market of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, will be available on the day.

It can travel up to 32.5 miles on electricity and recent Outlander PHEV developments include improved styling and interior refinement. And if it’s the commercial vehicle version that’s of interest, then the Outlander 4Work will also be available to test drive.

In addition, Ford will be bringing along its

Fleet nd ers a manag nals,will io profess o test drive t be ablee of vehicles a rang ed to lower design rmful ha ns emissio

discuss with fleet managers how to improve operational efficiency, cut and highlight costs and reduce administration burdens.

Chevin will be able to discuss its software and mobile apps which aim to simplify fleet management, from the complete financial and performance overview of vehicles and equipment to policy and supervision of drivers.

Electrical service specialist Electrassure will be available to answer any questions regarding electric vehicle charging, and Rolec will be showcasing its range of innovative charging solutions for work, home and public spaces.

Leaseplan will also set up a stand to offer advice and answer questions about fleet management and solutions, while Northgate will allow delegates to learn about their flexible vehicle rental options that give fleets more flexibility and cost control.

Also offering its services on the day is Geotab, the Technology Partner for the Beat The Sprig element. The firm will be using its technology to measure driver performance.

Geotab specialises in telematics and will be able to answer questions on how fleet managers can manage their drivers and vehicles better to become more efficient.

Beat The Sprig GreenFleet is once again holding its eco‑driving competition – Beat The Sprig.

The aim is for those taking part to beat the Sprig’s mpg on a seven-mile open-road route. Participants will drive a pre-mapped out route along with a driver training partner,

Arrive ‘n’ Drive

Ecosport, which has a 1.0 litre three‑cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, designed to give the same power as a conventional 1.6. The Ecosport also has a shift indicator light to tell the driver when to change gear, to maximise fuel efficiency. And if it’s “muscle” you’re after, then look no further than the Ford Mustang EcoBoost, sure to be another star of the show.

Nissan, this year’s Beat The Sprig Vehicle Partner, will be providing three new Nissan Micras to be used for the Sprig eco-driving competition. In addition to the ever-popular Leaf which has an NEDC range of up to 124 miles (Leaf 24kWh) or 155 miles with the Leaf 30kWh, the Japanese marque will also have the e-NV200 electric van, and low-emission Qashqai there too.

GreenFleet are delighted to welcome Suzuki and their small city car – the Celerio – to the event for the very first time (GreenFleet issue 103). Recognising the issues that diesel engines produce, Suzuki have adopted a “Petrol Works” approach that is perfect for organisations that do not have the budget or recharging infrastructure for electric, but still have city and urban transport needs, and emissions targets to hit. It has advanced efficiency which means it boasts low CO2 emissions, which means low road tax, and has great fuel economy – up to around 78mpg – with its compact 1.0 litre engine.

Exhibitors For those who want to know more about fleet management and associated software, Chevin Fleet Solutions will be setting up stand to

who will monitor driving habits and make notes on how efficiency can be maximised.

Each vehicle will be fitted with telematics technology, courtesy of Geotab, that can give instant readings such as harsh braking, excessive acceleration, braking and MPG. Once the drivers return, a technician will reveal the readings, which will highlight their financial and emissions savings, and also determine who has made it onto the leaderboard.

Last year’s winner achieved 99mpg, which is a 27 per cent improvement on the manufacturer’s official combined MPG figure.

To have a look at the latest ultra-low emission vehicles and for a chance to ‘Beat The Sprig’, register online for free. L FURTHER INFORMATION events.greenfleet.net/arrivedrive

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

49

GreenFleet Dundee Written by Andrea Pluck

A look back at GreenFleet Dundee GreenFleet hosted an event at Caird Hall in Dundee on 17 August, in association with Dundee City Council, to allow fleet and transport managers from the area to hear the latest on lowering emissions from their fleets and within the city The city of Dundee has been declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) as a result of high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) being found in the city.

Following this, Dundee City Council has put in place an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) which aims to improve the air quality in the areas of concern.

A number of measures which have been mentioned on the AQAP include exploring the provision of Park and Ride facilities, developing cycling strategies, installing electric charging facilities in car parks and developing a fleet management plan to improve fuel efficiency.

In addition to this, Dundee City Council has implemented ECO STARS Dundee. It is a free environmental recognition scheme which rates individual vehicles and overall fleet operations on their levels of environmental performance.

The scheme has been set up to help fleet operators improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and emissions in order to improve local air quality while making cost savings.

In light of this, GreenFleet organised an event at Caird Hall in Dundee, on 17 August, in association with Dundee City Council to allow fleet and transport managers from the area hear the latest on lowering emissions in the city, as well as details on ultra-low emission car, van and charging grants.

Speakers Motoring journalist and former low carbon vehicle specialist, John Curtis, hosted the event, introducing a range of industry experts who gave keynote presentations to delegates.

Taking to the speaker stand first was Dundee City Councillor, Lynne Short. She outlined to delegates the ways in which the council is dedicated to getting emission levels down.

Cllr Short explained a range of schemes from the council’s Car Share initiative and its effort in encouraging the use of public transport through the ABC ticket scheme – a smart ticket offering unlimited travel on All Bus Companies (ABC).

Head of low carbon vehicles for Transport Scotland, Laurence Kenney, discussed the ambition for widespread EV adoption in Scotland and the vision for future transport across the nation.

According to Kenney, by 2050, all communities will be free from petrol and diesel emissions. By 2040, it is hoped that almost all new vehicles sold will be near-zero emission and by 2030, half of all fossil-fuelled vehicles are to be phased out across Scotland.

Kenney also went on to discuss the relevant grants regarding Scotland’s charging infrastructure and purchase incentives such as ‘Switched on Fleets’ – a £2.5 million government investment aimed at advancing green transport credential in public sector fleets.

Representatives from BMW, Arnold Clark KIA, Specialist Cars

A f n ra ge osion is low-emc vehicles ctri and ele available were gates to for delevided by a test, pro r of numbe s brand

50

Nissan, Tesla and eVolt also took to the stand to discuss their latest on low emission vehicles and vehicle recharging technology.

John Curtis also held a roundtable discussion with Dundee City Council to answer any questions that delegates had regarding electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, among other topics surrounding lowering emissions.

Test drives A range of low-emission and electric vehicles were available for delegates to test, provided by a number of popular brands.

BMW Group brought along its MINI Cooper S E Countryman PHEV, which has an electric range of up to 31 miles in order to meet the demand of longer trips.

It can easily be charged at home using a plug-in socket. The BMW 330e was also available to take for a spin. Specialist Cars Nissan supplied the firm’s popular Leaf, which now has a claimed range of 155 miles – an increase of 25 per cent compared to its previous model. The eNV200 electric van was also available.

Another vehicle available for test drive was Tesla’s all-electric powertrain – the Model S. Its Model X was also brought along, which has a 100kWh battery, providing 351 miles of range.

Arnold Clark brought along Kia’s Niro Hybrid, Optima PHEV and Soul EV for delegates to take for a ride.

Moving away from cars, Electric Bikes Scotland brought along a selection of electric bikes for delegates to test out.

In terms of charging, eVolt was available to discuss vehicle charging needs and answer any questions. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.dundee.greenfleet.net

Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet 120 What is it?

Launched in late 2016, the Fiat Tipo name should resonate with fleet drivers of a certain age. The first generation was built from 1988 to 1995, and, just like the newest version, was a Volkswagen Golf-sized hatchback, initially with five doors. European Car of the Year in 1989, the boxy styling of the original Tipo lent it a large amount of interior space for its compact footprint.

It’s much the same story for the latest Tipo, too. The second-generation hatchback and estate (Station Wagon) were preceded by a Turkish-only market saloon, and the range replaces the Fiat Bravo and Linea. The Tipo has been developed by Tofaş, a joint venture between the Fiat Group and Koç Holding, and unashamedly value driven, the car was awarded the ‘2016 Best Buy Car of Europe’ award from the Autobest jury, on which 26 leading European journalists sit. Emissions are as low as 89g/km, but we have the 98g/km Lounge MultiJet 120 on test here.

may be fewer soft-touch surfaces than in a Golf, the price reflects that. The most obvious giveaway perhaps at the Tipo’s low cost is the ‘Uconnect’ colour five-inch touchscreen, which appears to have been lifted from the How does it drive?

500. But, it all works well, and with DAB/ While the 500 – and to an extent the Panda Bluetooth/USB/AUX-in, and a navigation – fly the Fiat styling flag, the Tipo is demure system with live services, the system’s high and understated in its looks. Its smart specification can’t be faulted. Ahead of the appearance doesn’t betray its more budget driver, a monochrome TFT display imparts origins, though, and the Lounge trim all sorts of useful information, too. of our test car was lifted by its On the move, Fiat’s latest exterior chrome flourishes 1.6‑litre MultiJet II turbodiesel Emissio and 17-inch alloy wheels. engine pulls well and allows n s for the If there is a criticism, it’s for easy cruising, when that the car’s silhouette it’s refined character Tipo are Fiat a evokes contemporary makes for an enjoyable s lo as 89g/ w motorway companion.

South Korean models km, wh ile Benefit The 120bhp unit is from Kia and Hyundai, quite noisy when which, coincidentally, rates st In Kind idling, though, but the are arguably the Tipo’s a r t f ro m 20 per Tipo’s six-speed manual most direct rivals on cent gearbox is pleasant to use. both size and price.

Performance is plentiful, with Inside, there are little the 0 to 62mph dash dealt with touches of design flair, but in 9.8 seconds, and 236lb ft (320Nm) overall it’s all very business-like. The of torque available from 1,750rpm. While materials, while, honest and presentable, the Tipo is no sports car, it handles nicely and clear in their budget enough and has plenty of grip, while body conscious aspirations. roll is contained. E But while there

Written by Richard Gooding

Good value, spacious, economical, and with low emissions, Richard Gooding finds that Fiat’s latest Tipo plays a strong fleet‑friendly hand

Road Test

ROAD TEST

51

Road Test

Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet 120 ENGINE: Fiat Tipo emissions range from 89g/km to 147g/km, while Benefit In Kind rates start at 20 per cent

As well as a five-door hatchback, the Fiat Tipo is also available as an estate (Station Wagon), which offers an additional 110 litres of luggage space with the rear seats in place

1,598cc, four-cylinder diesel

CO2:

98g/km

NOx:

66mg/km

MPG (combined):

76.3

GF MPG (combined):

55.1

VED:

£120 first-year, £140 thereafter

BIK:

21%

PRICE (OTR):

£18,795 (including VAT, £19,345 as tested)

‘Uconnect’ touchscreen offers sat-nav with live services

MultiJet II diesel engine is a flexible performer, but also allows for easy economy

Value origins are evident in Tipo cabin, but equipment is high

 The Dualdrive power steering might be short on feedback but, pleasantly, isn’t overly light either, while the composed ride only really becomes unsettled on the most abrasive surfaces. Comfortable seats aid those long motorway stints behind the wheel, with electric lumbar support on the driver’s chair.

How economical is it?

Fiat quotes a combined cycle economy figure of 76.3mpg for Tipos fitted with the 1.6-litre MultiJet II turbodiesel engine: over a mixed driving conditions test distance of 1,250 miles – more than our usual duration – we achieved an average of 55.1mpg. However, over 60mpg was achieved easily on more than one occasion, and an ‘eco:Drive’ smartphone app can also monitor the Tipo’s efficiency.

What does it cost?

At £18,795, the Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet 120 sits towards the top of the hatchback range: costing £1,000 more, only the DCT automatic version is above it. The range starts with the 94bhp 132g/km Easy 1.4 at £13,795, while the 99g/km Easy 1.3 MultiJet, also with 94bhp, costs £15,795.

But don’t forget the Tipo also comes as a ‘Station Wagon’ estate car, too. Around £1,000 more in every case over the five-door hatchback, the Station Wagon offers a useful 110 litres of extra capacity over the hatch’s

52

440 litres, as well as an additional under‑floor storage compartment. Regardless of which body style is chosen, though, the Tipo’s interior is a spacious place to be, while rear legroom is some of the largest in its class.

What must not be overlooked, though, is the Tipo’s value card. Prices may be at the Ford Fiesta end of the market, but you’re getting a much larger and more practical Focus-sized car for the same money. A slightly higher-spec 99g/km Focus Titanium X 1.5 TDCi 120 for example, is priced from £24,215, but that’s almost £5,500 more.

Our test car’s overall price was £19,345, the only option fitted being the £550 Elba Blue metallic paint. As standard, the Fiat Tipo Lounge comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic lights and wipers, climate control, LED daytime running lights, as well as rear parking camera and sensors. When it comes to safety, all Tipos come with six airbags, ABS and electronic stability control, autonomous emergency braking function, and cruise control, in addition to a hill hold function, and a tyre pressure monitoring system. Adaptive cruise control costs an extra £250.

How much does it cost to tax?

With CO2 emissions of 98g/km, the Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet 120 sits in the £120 first year rate of VED, rising to £140 thereafter.

Fiat also offers a business-focused Tipo Elite model, which has an eco version of the

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

MultiJet 120 engine with CO2 emissions of 89g/km. The lower CO2 value means drivers save £20 on the first-year rate of VED, but the car costs the same to tax in the years thereafter. However, those lower emissions mean that Benefit In Kind liability starts at 20 per cent for the Elite, one per cent lower than the Lounge tested here.

Why does my fleet need one?

As a value-driven proposition, the latest incarnation of the Fiat Tipo is hard to beat.

The Italian medium-sized hatchback also excels on practicality, and with emissions towards the lower end of the market, as well as good economy, it promises reduced running costs, too. Other benefits include a comfortable, composed and relaxed demeanour, class-best levels of space, and a decent standard equipment list.

While the lower-specification models represent the ultimate in value, all versions play a strong cost-conscious hand. Understated, economical, and easy to live with, the Fiat Tipo goes about its business in a no-nonsense, unruffled and relaxed fashion. For busy fleets, those are abilities which are perhaps far too often overlooked. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.fiat.co.uk

First Drive

FIRST DRIVE

Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX Recently revised, the Citroën Berlingo Electric now offers more to LCV operators, including cost savings, as well as a larger L2 variant

How practical is it?

The Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX has a payload of 636kg, and a carrying capacity of 3.3m3.

The L2 version sees the cargo capacity grow to 3.7m3. This can be further extended to 4.1m3 – 3.7m3 on the smaller L1 – thanks to the Extenso folding passenger bench seat.

On both vans, the lithium‑ion battery packs are fitted under the loadspace floor, so the interior cargo dimensions are the same as their diesel‑engined siblings. The Berlingo Electric L1 has a sliding door on the nearside as well as rear opening asymmetric doors, while the larger L2 version boasts twin sliding side doors.

What range does it have?

The 49kW (67bhp) permanent magnet synchronous electric motor/22.5kWh lithium‑ion

Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX GROSS PAYLOAD: LOAD VOLUME: ENGINE:

CO2: RANGE: VED:

636kg 3.3-3.7m3

49kW/67bhp synchronous electric motor, 22.5kWh lithium-ion battery

battery pack drivetrain gives the Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX an official range of up to 106 miles, or 80-90 miles in the real world.

How long does it take to charge?

Both L1 and L2 versions of the Citroën Berlingo Electric van can be recharged to 80 per cent of their capacity in 30 minutes from a 50kW (DC) CHAdeMO rapid charge point. All Berlingo Electrics are also supplied with a 16A Type 2 charging cable which is compatible with more common public charging points (8 hours), while using a 13A household/domestic socket increases charging time to 10 hours.

How does it drive?

The Berlingo Electric’s powertrain drives the front wheels through a speed reducer and single ratio gearbox. As you’d expect from an electric vehicle, acceleration is brisk, thanks to the electric motor’s 148lb ft (200Nm) of torque from standstill. Aside from the obvious lack of noise, it’s just like driving a normal van. Under deceleration, the drive motor also provides regenerative braking, helping

The Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX has emission of 0g/km and also attracts zero VED costs

What does it cost?

The Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX is priced at £21,750, while the bigger appetite L2 costs £22,180. The Plug-in Van Grant (PiVG) from OLEV also discounts 20 per cent of the price including VAT, excluding on-the-road costs.

How much does it cost to tax?

All zero‑emission Citroën Berlingo Electric vans are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which brings a further saving of £230 per year when compared to diesel rivals.

Written by Richard Gooding

What is it?

The all-electric version of the Citroën Berlingo van first arrived in 1998, and the second‑generation model was ushered in during 2013. Only initially available in 1,800mm load-length ‘L1’ configuration, Citroën added a longer load-length 2,050mm ‘L2’ version earlier this year.

to recharge the batteries and reduce brake wear, also saving on maintenance bills.

Why does my fleet need one?

As well as being practical and easy to use, the Citroën Berlingo Electric L1 635 LX offers sizable savings compared to diesel‑engined vans, especially if operated in London. These potential savings and no VED add weight to Citroën’s claims that the electric Berlingo can pay for itself in as little as three years, and are the icing on an already‑tempting zero‑emission LCV cake. L FURTHER INFORMATION business.citroen.co.uk/

0g/km 106 miles £0

PRICE (ex-VAT): £21,750 (excluding on-the-road costs and government PiVG)

Volume 107 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

53

Product Finder

ALTERNATVE FUELS

COMMERCIAL FLEET HIRE

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Aquila Truck Centres Certas Energy

Europcar

www.certasenergy.co.uk Tel: 0345 600 3519 Email: product@certasenergy.co.uk

www.europcar.co.uk

Certas Energy is the UK’s largest independent supplier of fuel and lubricants, operating a national network to deliver a competitive and responsive service. Committed to providing customers with smarter, alternative fuel choices, Certas is the only supplier of Shell GTL Fuel in the UK – a cleaner burning alternative to diesel to help tackle the UK’s air quality problem.

FLEET MANAGEMENT

Operating 7,500 vans at peak times and working with the key manufacturers, Europcar’s UK network ensures access to specialist vehicles as well as the full range of standard commercial vehicles which can be delivered anywhere within 4 hours. The vans have an average age of 15 months offering the latest technology and delivering fuel efficiency.

Covering Bristol, Swindon, Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, Aquila Truck Centres (Italia) Ltd can assist in every aspect of purchasing and operating your IVECO commercial vehicle. Our team of skilled technicians are supported by a comprehensive and competitively priced parts department, who are backed by the IVECO network.

VEHICLE LEASING

HYDROGEN

Chevin Fleet Solutions

ULEMCo

ALD Automotive

+44 1773 821992 Sales@chevinfleet.co.uk www.chevinfleet.com/gb/

01928 787 179 info@ulemco.com www.ulemco.com The Quay, 12 Princes Parade, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 1BG

www.aldautomotive.co.uk 03700011181

Chevin’s leading fleet management software, FleetWave, helps measure and reduce fleet costs, improve operational efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure compliance & risk requirements are met. The system manages the whole fleet lifecycle, from the initial acquisition of a vehicle, through to deployment, operating expenses, incidents, work orders, maintenance, legal requirements and finally disposal.

CAR AND VAN RENTAL

Green Motion 2 Redman Court, Bell Street, Princes Risborough, Bucks, HP27 0AA Tel: 01844 222333 reservations@greenmotion.co.uk www.greenmotion.co.uk Green Motion is the UK’s leading provider of low CO2 vehicle hire. Through our national network, we offer both leisure and business customers the opportunity to enjoy great value vehicle rental, while helping to reduce the impact of global CO2 emissions associated with road travel. Providing reporting and advice to management and staff, Green Motion can highlight savings in cost and impact on the environment.

54

www.aquilatrucks.com Tel: 0121 520 1234 Fax: 0121 520 1800

ULEMCo Ltd offer services to convert commercial vehicles to run on hydrogen dual fuel. Including the supply & installation of safely engineered retrofit, warranty and VSO certificate. Ideally suited to significantly reduce emissions for urban duties. Advice, consultancy and the supply of hydrogen refuelling capability can also be provided.

ALD Automotive is the leader in vehicle leasing operations in Europe. Using first hand‑experience garnered through real-world trials, we provide practical and considered solutions that reflect the unique needs of your fleet, no matter how diverse or unique.

Whether you’re looking to save costs, reduce emissions or switch to Alternatively Fuelled Vehicles, our consultants are on hand to support you.

ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service

BMW Chevin Fleet Solutions CNG Fuels Daimler Fleet Management Engenie Engine Carbon Clean FCA Group Fleetmaster Operational Ford Go Ultra-Low Iveco

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

36 49 20 33 18 26 39,44 28 14 17 24

Jaguar Lightfoot Petro-Canada Rolec Services The AA

4 11 23 16 Inside back cover, 34 TomTom Telematics 29 Toyota Back cover, 6 Tusker Direct 27 Vauxhall Inside front cover Volkswagen 8

We’ll keep your fleet working for you From 24-hour breakdown cover to accident assistance, mobile tyre fitting to telematics that help optimise vehicle performance, we’ll keep your fleet on the road.

Talk to us today about Business Breakdown Cover Call 0800 294 2994 Or visit theAA.com/business

READY TO BREAK WITH CONVENTION?

The choice is yours from city cars, to SUVs, executive coupés and more.

Put our world leading hybrids to the test and call 0344 701 6186 or visit toyotalexusfleet.co.uk/convention