Sharing the charging infrastructure of local businesses could answer the needs of fleets whose drivers lack off-road parking, so can’t install their own charger, believes the Association of Fleet Professionals.
Paul Hollick, chair, AFP, says such facilities, available out-of-hours, can often be found near to employee’s terraced homes and apartments.
“In practical terms, not having home charging is probably the biggest blocker to electric vehicle (EV) adoption for fleets. Needing to charge during the daytime creates downtime that financially impacts on the core business and operational arguments for going electric, as well as usually being much more expensive than using a domestic charger.
“When fleets are considering which vehicles to electrify, this issue is often at the forefront of their minds. Uncertainty around the time, cost and location of charging for drivers and their cars and vans creates a lot of doubt. However, the AFP shared charging network provides a ready, drop-in solution that reduces or removes charging downtime thanks to an approach that gives fleets certainty.
“Our method is to identify charging needs for each individual fleet vehicle then, using intelligent data, match them with locally available, privately-owned facilities within our network. The owners of these shared chargers are signed up to our initiative on best practice terms, solving the problems of both convenience and cost.”
Working with its partner, Evata, the AFP launched their shared charging network and its accompanying portal and app in May, enabling vehicle operators to collaborate with peers to access charging at preferential rates, while allowing charger owners to achieve improved utilisation and margin.
