78% of organisations plan to electrify up to half of fleets, finds Geotab

Seventy-eight per cent of organisations are planning to electrify up to half of their fleets, Geotab’s Fleet 2020 report has found.

The telematics company’s report outlines fleet manager and consumer attitudes toward the adoption of EVs, and argues in favour of a collaborative, data-driven approach to transition to electric.

It also found a further 33% would ideally like to transition between 51% to 100% of their fleets to an electric model within the next five years, while only 2%  have no plans to implement EVs.

Other key findings are:

• Passenger EV sales are expected to rise to 10 million in 2025, and 56 million by 2040  
• UK consumers are driven to buy EVs – 60% of UK buyers expect their next vehicle to be hybrid or electric 
• While 36% of people agreed that the UK is making good progress on EV adoption, 66% believe that the UK needs to do more. 

David Savage, regional manager, UK & Ireland, of Geotab, said: “Our report comes at a crucial time, when recent data from the EEA illustrates the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emissions, which are responsible for a large percentage of air pollution and the warming of the planet.

“People are now, more than ever, actively thinking about transitioning from diesel and petrol vehicles, and the 60% drop in NO₂ emissions in the last few weeks is proof that it can be done.

“Now is a critical moment for fleet managers and consumers interested in adopting more electric and hybrid vehicles to do so.

“As the demand for action grows, we must apply all the tools at our disposal to make the change happen and continue to encourage positive, permanent change when things return to normal.”   

The Fleet 2020 report also found attitudes to EV adoption vary across the country.

London-based residents are more concerned about the impact of climate change than elsewhere in the country (44%). Comparatively, only 29% of those in the East Midlands are ‘very concerned’.

Sixty-three per cent of respondents in London own a petrol or diesel vehicle, versus 90% elsewhere, and 27% now say they own an EV, compared to an average of 5%-10% in other parts of the country.