As discussed in the previous sections on the sustainable transport hierarchy, the most effective way to reduce emissions from travel is to remove vehicle mileage and rationalise your fleet. However, where mileage must be completed in a vehicle, it should be done in a way that generates the lowest emissions possible.

The successful implementation of ZEVs

When ICE vehicles are due for replacement, you should replace them with ZEVs wherever possible.

This includes BEVs and FCEVs. There are more BEVs currently on the market than FCEVs. However, that may change for heavier vehicles.

The choice of ZEVs on the market is growing and is expected to grow significantly over the next few years. The UK Government website lists most ZEVs currently available. The larger a vehicle is, the fewer ZEV replacement options there are available for it. For example, the are lots of ZE car models available but fewer ZE heavy duty vehicles and special purpose vehicles. We recommend investigating all options and transitioning as many fleet vehicles to zero emission alternatives as possible.

It’s important to foster a culture change in your workforce that encourages using ZEVs over non-ZEVs. This will help to overcome any concerns your employees may have when adopting new technologies. 

Targets for adopting ZEVs should prioritise zero emission mileage driven, not only ICE vehicles transitioned to BEV.  If drivers are reluctant to use the BEV vehicles in your fleet, they may use them less. This could result in mileage shifting to your remaining ICE vehicles, reducing your potential emission and cost savings.

You should shift your mileage from higher polluting vehicles to lower polluting vehicles, if you’re not able to immediately replace these with ZEVs. Moving your mileage to existing cleaner vehicles in your fleet can reduce short term costs and emissions.

Educating people will dispel negative myths surrounding ZEVs and ensure they know the benefits of this technology. It will also improve their driving ability, efficiency and confidence.

For some organisations, appointing ‘ZEV champions’ – people who are already enthusiastic about ZEVs to help encourage others to use them – has been effective. Union representatives or team members can spread a positive message about the benefits of using ZEVs. This bottom-up approach can help ZEV uptake. Having the ‘ZEV Champions’ support test drives or driver training can also work well. Often the best way to improve driver acceptance is to get people driving and experiencing the cars first-hand.

Key considerations when adopting zero emission vehicles

It’s important to develop a good knowledge of the current ZEVs and keep up to date with new models as they arrive on the market.

Supply constraints can be an issue, so placing orders early can be helpful.  Once you find a ZEV that could replace a current ICE vehicle (with the correct size, load carrying capacity, seats and equipment) the next step is to assess its operational viability. 

The key considerations for operational viability are:

• Maximum required driving range on a single charge.
• Charging time.
• Vehicle efficiency (Wh/km or kWh/100km).
• Total cost of ownership.

Although BEVs have a lower range on a single charge than most ICE vehicles on a full fuel tank, this may not affect their viability as replacement vehicles. It’s important to understand the journey demands of the vehicle being replaced.  Some of your vehicles may drive long distances but the route may have regular stops with access to a charge point. In this case, a vehicle with a relatively small battery could be a suitable alternative. 

Choosing a vehicle with a smaller battery will reduce your capital costs, as the battery is often the most expensive part of the vehicle.  It will reduce CO2e emissions, as there are embedded CO2e emissions in battery production. Also, driving with the extra weight of a large battery is less efficient. 

Installing and using telematics will highlight how often vehicles are driving high mileages. You can make your fleet more efficient by assigning large battery vehicles to high mileage journeys and smaller battery vehicles to shorter trips.

Replacing all vehicles with zero emission alternatives will be vital in reaching net zero. Further action will however be required in additional to vehicle replacements as electricity generation and hydrogen production both generate CO2 emissions, as does the production of BEVs themselves. To further reduce emissions we will need to minimise the number of vehicles we use and the miles we drive.

Service, maintenance and repair

When you transition to ZEVs, you’ll find there are changes to the service, maintenance and repair of fleets. The good news is that servicing BEVs is far simpler than ICE vehicles as they have fewer moving parts. This can lead to savings on consumables, parts, and labour.   
 
Servicing BEVs is no different to ICE vehicles in terms of regularity and following manufacturer warranty guidelines. Average service, maintenance, and repair savings for BEVs suggest a 20-25% decrease against equivalent ICE vehicles. This is mainly a result of BEVs having fewer moving parts. They don’t need oil changes, spark plugs or air filter replacements. There is also less need to replace and service braking systems as BEVs use regenerative braking
 
One disadvantage of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) is that they need both the servicing of an ICE vehicle and the electrified system. This can mean that PHEV servicing is more expensive than that for ICE vehicles.   
 
Weight load  
 
BEVs generally need increased tyre maintenance as they are heavier vehicles. The extra weight can also create issues with steering and suspension due to torque. However, you can reduce the effects of these by encouraging your staff not to drive aggressively.  
 
Outsourced service, maintenance and repair  
 
Servicing your BEVs in local or independent garages might be more challenging than for ICE vehicles. However, large franchises offer EV services, and increasing numbers of smaller garages are training their mechanics to deal with EV repairs. 

In-house service, maintenance and repair

The Institute of the Motor Industry offers an EV technician training programme for organisations with their own in-house servicing workshops. Servicing EVs is simpler than petrol or diesel vehicles. This means you can expect to save in the long-term after making the initial investment in training.  

As you may need fewer staff to maintain and service fleet vehicles, you could combine teams or workshops with other public bodies. You could also consider offering commercial EV servicing to the wider community.