Royal Mail joins initiative to accelerate adoption of electric fleet vehicles

Royal Mail has joined six other major British companies in an effort to help accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in commercial fleets.

The Electric Vehicle Fleet Accelerator (EVFA) – whose other members include bp, BT, Direct Line Group, ScottishPower, Severn Trent and Tesco – yesterday (29 July) published a report which outlined a series of “urgent actions” needed from both industry and Government.

The EVFA, which grew from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Build Back Better Business Council, brings together CEOs of companies that own and operate some of the largest van fleets in the UK and companies involved with infrastructure, EV charging, retail and insurance and repair.

The report sets out how Government policy could help unlock private sector investment of £50 billion in infrastructure and in electric fleets in the UK over the next five years.

The EVFA members said that – if the UK Government delivers on the proposed agenda – they have committed to converting the fleets involved to electric vehicles by 2030 and to buying 70,000 British-built vans by 2030 or sooner.

The EVFA members believe this electrification of fleet vehicles can have much wider benefits beyond their own businesses, as it will “catalyse the mass adoption of EVs in the UK”.

Furthermore, they said expanding national charging networks will build wider confidence in using EVs. And, as fleets and businesses account for 60% of new vehicle registrations, their electrification will also build and drive an active second-hand market – the main vehicle market for most consumers.

If the infrastructure and frameworks are put in place to enable this, the EVFA companies believe that “wider customer demand can shift towards EVs sooner than is currently expected”.

Click here to access the EVFA’s full report.