Europcar
Company Focus
Putting businesses in the electric driving seat
Decarbonisation is now on the agenda of most organisations – public and private sector – with fleet users facing pressure to lead the charge into cleaner, greener mobility. But this is a mammoth task when vehicle supply is limited, overall fleet operating costs are spiralling and the true effect of electric motoring – on drivers and their organisations – is an unknown.
Winning hearts and minds
Plus there’s another big challenge employers face in making the transition to zero. That’s winning over the hearts and minds of their drivers.
There’s no question that employees want to feel that they are working for an organisation with good sustainability credentials. A recent survey[1] conducted by Europcar amongst company car drivers found that 35% would consider changing jobs if they felt their employer wasn’t doing enough to be sustainable and tackle climate change. And only 32% believe their employer is currently taking the right actions.
But right now the spectre of range anxiety still weighs heavy on most drivers – whether private motorists in their own vehicle or employees driving for work. And that is a major factor for employers when aiming to introduce electric to their fleets.
The government’s latest commitment to electric vehicle charge points, with a new pilot backed by £20 million of government and industry funding[2], should start to make in-roads into addressing those fears. However, having charging easily accessible – street-side, at petrol and service stations and at business locations – is only half the battle. The other challenge is to give drivers confidence in the ‘how, where and when’ of electric motoring. And that requires a change in mindset for all affected.
Learning on the job
The big question is how to do this in a way that provides useful learnings, while avoiding any detrimental impact on current productivity – especially when there is so much external pressure on operating costs. Renting electric vehicles is a particularly effective way to do this. After all, a short test-drive, even if it's for a week or more, doesn’t really deliver the insight employers and their drivers need to understand the true impact of adding electric to their fleet. What’s needed is real-world experience before making the big move.
Try before you buy
Long-Term Solutions from Europcar are enabling employers and their drivers to do this, putting electric motoring in real-world conditions. Organisations can even switch between different vehicle types to understand what’s the right fit for their operations. Plus Europcar is providing the facility for CO2 reporting to see the impact of electric motoring on an organisation’s sustainability targets.
Available for a minimum of 3 months with no upfront deposit and commitment free, Flex from Europcar for EV includes:
- Comprehensive vehicle handover and charging instructions support
- Charging cables
- Shell Recharge card and app – providing access to over 10,000 publicly accessible charge points across the UK
- Access to Tesla Superchargers for Tesla rentals
- The option for CO2 reporting for valuable insight into emissions reduction
Plus, through its partnership with Shell Recharge Solutions, Europcar is offering a range of home, roadside and workplace charging solutions.
Staying compliant
Of course, as more Clean Air Zones start operating in towns and cities across the country, access to compliant vehicles will also be important to ensure that organisations do not have to pay fees and incur fines for entering these areas – as well as doing their part in improving air quality. Again, rental is helping manage this without an organisation having to make a long-term commitment to fleet right now.
One size doesn’t fit all
Europcar is adding vehicles that span the majority of business motoring use cases to give fleet managers the chance to genuinely put low and zero emission motoring to the test, all available as part of Europcar Long-Term rental solutions. The latest additions include several hundred Tesla Model 3 for long-term business rental. The LEVC van and Mercedes-Benz e-Vito have also been added to the commercial fleet with existing customers being supported in their transition to zero with access to the Mercedes-Benz eVito van for short demo test-drives.
The Europcar branch network is also rapidly being charged up for the future, with the number of charge points doubled this year.
To find out more about how Europcar can help your organisation transition to zero visit