The Association of Fleet Professionals is looking for fleets to register their interest in joining its kerbside charging initiative.
The association set up the working group in October to tackle what it called the “last stumbling block” to fleet electric vehicle (EV) adoption: staff without driveways to charge their vehicles at home.
Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said: “One of the key barriers to EV adoption, especially for LCV fleets, is charging, especially for those who do not have access to home charging.
“The group estimates that, although our industry is quoting 40% of drivers do not have a driveway, for commercial vehicle drivers, this figure is closer to 70%.”
He is looking to create a national corporate database of postcodes for staff without the ability to install a home charger and will then work with charging providers and local authorities to ensure that kerbside charging solutions are made available where required.
AFP plans to have the database up and running in the first quarter of 2022 which will include all the data from the working group heat-mapped across the UK to highlight the areas with the greatest need for kerbside charging units.
Hollick said: “Beyond this group, we are setting up on our website a web-form for other fleets to join up, and they will be including in phase 2, probably February/March time.”
He hopes to have signed terms with a data provider by the end of the year which will collate the postcode information and support the association in its talks with local authorities. The AFP has also good dialogue with the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) about the initiative.
“Our primary focus is commercial vehicle electrification, but the data will also include car requirements too,” added Hollick.
Initial members of the group include Denise Lane of Capita, David Fisher and Rod Hogg of Virgin Media, Simon Gray of SSE, Duncan Webb of ISS, Dale Eynon of Defra, Julie Madoui and Claire Kershaw of Kier, Olly Kunc of OpenReach, Colin Hutt of Clarion Response, James Rooney and Lucy Simpson of Centrica, Lee Jackson of Marston Holdings, Tony Murphy of Murphy Plant, Lorna McAtear of National Grid, Aaron Powell of Speedy Services and Simon King of Mitie.
AFP will update fleets on its project as part of a Kerbside Charging webinar on December 15.
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Bauer B2B group editor Stephen Briers has been an automotive business journalist since 1995. He has been editor of Fleet News since 2009 and before that was editor of Automotive Management for almost seven years. He now oversees both brands, as well as RAIL magazine.
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