Get set for the electric surge
More than 62% of UK fleet managers expect to increase their spending on hybrid and electric vehicles in the next few years and 75% plan to up their investment in fuel efficient technology, according to a newly-available report from BT Fleet and the AA. Diesel is currently the fuel of choice for the UK fleet. According to the Operation Fleet Insight Report’s research: “The average proportion of diesel-fuelled vehicles was 65%, far higher than petrol (27%), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (4%) and fully electric vehicles (4%).”
However, almost a quarter (24%) of the fleet managers thought that the proportion of diesel-fuelled vehicles within their fleet will decrease over the next five years. The shift is being prompted, at least in part, by the rise of low emission zones in cities such as London and mounting pressure on companies to make their fleets “as green as possible”.
The report, which is available to download for free at www.btfleetinsight.com, also found 59% of fleet managers were looking to spend more on telematics. Furthermore, 86% said that the use of telematics had been useful to their company, and 82% said that they thought telematics systems would soon be fitted as standard in vehicles. The primary benefits that the fleet managers associated with telematics were reducing unnecessary mileage, monitoring driver behaviour, and fuel efficiency.
Autonomy – currently one of the busiest buzzwords in the transport sector – also makes an appearance in the report, but it is not seen as a burning issue. “Ultimately,” concluded the report, “autonomous technology is not an immediate concern for fleet managers, and is far down their list of priorities after the likes of telematics, making use of big data and alternative fuelling.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, fleet managers were more receptive to the idea of autonomy than their drivers were. 16% of fleet managers thought that fully autonomous/driverless vehicles would make up a proportion of their fleet within the next one to two years, while only 7% of drivers shared this view. Given the current state of the technology and the need for both more infrastructure and legislation, the drivers are probably right on this one. However, 37% of drivers said that they thought that fully autonomous would never make up a proportion of their company’s fleet, and this may have been self-interest talking.
Around 41% of fleet managers thought that autonomous vehicles will make up at least part of their fleet within the next ten years – and this may be the balanced view.
