By Paul Hollick, chair, Association of Fleet Professionals

What is the most important single lesson from the successful electrification of company cars over the last few years? From conversations within the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), we believe it’s that people are the core of any transition to a more sustainable fleet.

While most employees genuinely want to adopt more environmentally responsible practices, practical ways need to be created by fleet managers to show them how to bring about change.

You might have a superb strategy for sustainable transport but, if people at all levels aren’t engaged and provided with an achievable process, it’s probably not going to be effective.

Consider why company car electrification has worked. The factors have been a strong personal tax incentive, generally convenient and easy refuelling, and vehicles that are attractive and fit for purpose. Drivers have gone electric because it was the best option for them. Enthusiasm translated into behavioural shifts because there was a clear path.

Contrast this with van electrification where there is no equivalent tax incentive, refuelling is often proving disruptive to working practices, and the vehicles are just not suitable for some routes and payloads. Here, electrification is proving spiky and disruptive, largely because people are sometimes resisting a change that is more sustainable but also more difficult.

Taking employees with you

So, how should you make sure that you take employees with you on your journey to sustainability? Probably, you’ve already picked the low hanging fruit – company car drivers with off-road parking where a charger could be installed who don’t have an EV are almost certainly now a minority.

That element of electrification is well on the way to being done. Instead, the real work lies with people who are facing genuine obstacles such as when and where vehicles may be charged, the time needed to do so, the impact this might have on route planning, and the potentially detrimental effect all of this may have on productivity.

In late 2024, much of this work inevitably revolves around van fleets. Even a couple of years ago, there was a general assumption this process would proceed in a similar manner to car electrification but the practicalities have proven to be much more difficult. Faced with vehicles that can’t match diesel payloads and range, and drivers without the space available for overnight charging, the transition is proving to be much more incremental.

Recognition of this gradual pace should be a core consideration when it comes to creating a strategy. You probably aren’t going to be able to electrify your entire van fleet at once and a phased approach will be needed. This could mean first identifying which vans are used for light duties, so that there is a limited effect from payload issues, and allocating them to drivers who can install a charger at home.

Seeing these vehicles in successful operation creates important impetus for your second tranche of drivers and vans, who will probably face a slightly higher level of difficulty that require greater behaviour changes, and so on, until your entire fleet has electrified. The overall process may take some considerable length of time.

Communication is key

Regular communication is needed, of course. Explaining what you are doing and why, and the role employees have to play, is crucial, as well as mechanisms for receiving and responding to feedback. Targets and timings may also be part of your process. It’s all about making employees part of the impetus for change and involving them in the problem solving that electrification requires, rather than imposing potentially unpopular measures from above.

Advocates, especially drivers themselves, may prove crucial to success. Sustainable transport champions should be identified, however informal their role. If staff are able to see others moving forward positively in real time, it creates a strong impetus for change.

None of this is probably going to be easy. Few van fleets have yet managed to electrify entirely and most are encountering at least some resistance from drivers – but by engaging with employees and making them part of the journey, gradual progress is being made.

The best ways to do this are a regular topic of discussion within the AFP and we’d strongly recommend becoming part of our organisation in order to learn more about current best practice.

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