You will now notice more and more electric vehicles on our roads. The popularity of electric cars has been driven by the increased availability and the desire of the public to be more sustainable. However, following the UK Government’s announcement that they will ban the selling of diesel and petrol cars from 2030 there has been a dramatic rise is electric car sales. The move to electric is inevitable and as well as bringing fantastic environmental benefits there are great opportunities for your business.
Electric Vehicles in the market
The electric vehicle market is worth £280 billion. According to the IEA, there are now over 10 million electric vehicles on our roads, making up 1% of the total car stock. It is predicted by 2030 that, there will be over 300 million electric cars on the roads across the world and will account for 60% of new car sales compared to 4.6% in 2020.
There are many benefits of electric vehicles, such as…
The plug-in grant
The plug-in grant was announced in 2018; it is a scheme where the Government puts money towards your electric vehicle to make it more affordable and encourage more people to go electric. The maximum grant available is £1,500 and is given directly to the car dealership, so you don’t have to do anything; this will automatically be applied to your purchase. There are only 1,250 grants available, and these run out on 31st March 2023. Not all low emission cars are available for this grant, you can find the full list here
Working place charging scheme
Businesses have a responsibility to support the UK’s net zero targets, the working place charging scheme can do just that. This scheme aims to encourage businesses to install chargers, which will encourage more employees to go electric as they will now be able to charge their cars whilst they are at work. This scheme is covered by the Government and can offer your business up to £10,000 for charging points at your office premises. The grant provides up to £350 per socket at 75% of the total cost of installation. A maximum of 20 sockets can be installed on dedicated off-street parking for staff, visitors, and fleet use.
Electric vehicles current battery is something that puts people off purchasing one, but if your business installs EV charging points in the car park your employees will be more inclined to buy an electric vehicle as they do not have to worry about their battery dying whilst they are at work. The benefits of this particular scheme are that this can support your business’s net zero targets as your employee’s mileage counts towards your emissions. You can also let your customers know you have installed charging points to demonstrate to your customers you are actively working towards your net zero targets.
Supports your net zero goals
As mentioned previously in this blog, electric vehicles contribute to your organisations emissions. Electric vehicles are better for the environment, if your staff have electric vehicles, this will bring your organisation’s emissions down. If your organisation is based in an office rather than a more hybrid work scheme, this could make a difference in your current carbon footprint; as an individual, this will also bring down your own footprint.
Can give your business a competitive advantage
The type of business you operate will depend on the benefits that come with this. For example, if you are a shop owner, you would be bringing down your carbon emissions by having an electric car, and your customers would be aware of this as they see your vehicle. You could also install charging points in your car park for your customers to use, this will encourage people who have electric vehicles to shop at your store rather than a competitor who may not have charging points, you would also appear on the Charging points app that let people know where the closest EV charging points are.
If you are office based organisation, by installing charging points you will be encouraging your employees to purchase electric vehicles and reduce your carbon footprint. This is a positive message not only to existing employees but also new ones looking to join your company.
The public is paying more and more attention to what businesses are doing to help achieve net zero; therefore, encouraging employees to go electric may be the deciding factor between yourself and a competitor.
With the good must follow the bad. We will now look at the current challenges with moving to an electric vehicle , which are…
Charging speed
Electric cars can have see their battery life drained quickly, depending upon the model and the driver’s style. People are finding they have to stop halfway through long journeys to allow their car to charge so there is no risk of them being stranded. However, you can get different types of chargers that determine the charger’s speed, so although you have to stop to charge your vehicle, other chargers will charge at a different speed. Most service stations have rapid chargers, in urban areas, they have fast chargers, and in office car parks they tend to have slow chargers as you are there for a long time.
How can Beond help?
As part of eEnergy PLC, we can support our customers with a vast range of knowledge and experience to help them achieve their sustainability and net zero targets. We have a range of services that can be used to support your business in developing a plan and implementing solutions. Please speak to one of our advisors to help you, +44 20 8634 7533 or email info@beondgroup.com.
