Fleets split on provision of free home charging for staff driving EVs

Fleet decision-makers are split on whether their company should provide home charging facilities for employees who drive electric company cars.

Delegates at the latest Fleet200 Executive Club meeting, held at Oulton Hall in Leeds, discussed the provision of home and workplace charging infrastructure.

“You don’t install a petrol pump at the home of a driver with a petrol car, so why should it be any different for EVs?” asked one fleet decision-maker.

When fleets do not pay for home installation they help with the paperwork, grant application and advice on topics such as where to site the charger.

However, some organisations do provide home chargers to ease the transition to the new technology.

There was agreement that home charge points should be provided for drivers of electric vans where possible, as they are considered to be a tool for work rather than a personal vehicle.

This is also crucial to minimising downtime during the day as the vehicles should be charged with enough electricity to cope with the demands of their work schedule, meaning they do not need to stop for a charging top-up at any point.

One issue a fleet-decision maker had encountered with electric van drivers was some did not want to park their vehicle on their driveway so they could be charged, as this meant they would then have to park their personal vehicle on the road.

In some instances, this had resulted in an increase in the insurance premium for their personal vehicle, which it also makes them more susceptible to damage from passing vehicles.

One fleet which provides home chargers to all employees who take on EVs includes the cost of an additional home charger in its wholelife cost calculation to cover the possibility they may move house during the length of the vehicle lifecycle.

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