Cost advantages and lower environmental impact head the list of reasons why UK businesses are electrifying their company cars, suggests research from the latest Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer.
The factors mentioned by fleet and mobility decision makers in the research were topped by reduced fuel expenses (66% of those questioned – up from 54% in 2021) and, in second place, tax incentives (58% – up from 40% last year).
A lower environmental impact was third with 54%, total cost of ownership being lower than petrol or diesel vehicles at 41%, while improving the company image only at 37%, and being able to drive in low emissions zones at 33%, despite new cities and areas being added across the country.
Shaun Sadlier, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “As net zero and other corporate environmental targets become increasingly common across organisations of all types and sizes, it is unsurprising to see reduced environmental impact as one of the leading reasons that fleets are electrifying. All kinds of non-ICE cars – hybrid, PHEV and pure EV – offer major gains in this area.
“In fact, more than four out of 10 fleets now show an awareness that electrified choices offer a total cost of ownership in line or lower than petrol or diesel alternatives, a key point that is only likely to become more pertinent as oil prices continue to increase.
“Another factor that has seen considerable growth is that employees are increasingly pushing for electrified vehicle adoption, up to 42% in this edition of the research compared to 29% last year. Staff enthusiasm for electrification is a key enabler of rapid change in many organisations.”
