A new project from the Association of Fleet Professionals aims to create the “definitive picture” when it comes to comparing electric vehicle service, maintenance and repair costs to their internal combustion engine equivalents.
Paul Hollick chair at the AFP, said that much of the current data and information surrounding the subject was incomplete, inconsistent or contradictory – and that the objective was to cut through the noise to provide something as close as possible to a conclusive guide.
“There’s been an assumption ever since EVs started appearing on fleets that their SMR would be substantially cheaper than petrol and diesel cars and vans because there are fewer moving and wear parts. However, real world data has until recently been in short supply because comparatively few fleets have been operating EVs for any length of time.
“Various sources have been issuing what you might call work-in-progress SMR data over the last year or more, providing a snapshot picture of their experiences with EVs but it has been difficult to build a consistent picture. Some are reporting that SMR profiles are cheaper than ICE vehicles, as expected, but others have seen a more complex picture across different models and types of vehicle, especially when it comes to the wear and prices of EV tyres.
“This is problematic for fleets because it means that they don’t really have access to information that can show whether what they are spending on EV SMR is broadly consistent with what is being seen across the rest of the fleet sector. They have no way of knowing whether their managerial performance is good, bad or indifferent, and therefore no credible route to benchmarking or developing best practice.”
Tougher new EU rules from 1 January 2024 will apply Rules of Origin to vehicle batteries.
From then, components and materials within a battery must be sourced from the EU or UK or pay a higher tariff, which could add to overall production and selling costs as well as paperwork in customs checks.