Fleet Evolution challenges national media EV “scare stories”

As the world’s leaders meet in Glasgow to agree new climate control targets at COP26, Fleet Evolution is seeking to debunk what it calls “scare stories” about alternative fuel vehicles, which the EV salary sacrifice and fleet management specialist says are neither helpful nor constructive in the move to growing uptake of EVs and the road to net zero.

In recent months, despite the growing uptake of EVs, some national media reports have suggested that they are more expensive than ICE equivalents, that there will be insufficient numbers of chargers to meet the growing demand and that there will be a shortfall in electricity generated to meet expected consumption levels.

But Fleet Evolution argues that none of these claims are true and the myths need exposing for what they are, especially set against a backdrop of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow with EVs set to play a major role on the road to decarbonising UK transport.

Countering the first claim, that EVs are more expensive than comparable ICE models, Fleet Evolution founder and managing director, Andrew Leech said: “But this simply isn’t the case,” said.

“Take an entry level Skoda Enyaq fully electric SUV, for example, which after the Plug-in Car Grant of £2,500 has a list price of £32,000. This compares with an entry level Skoda Kodiaq diesel SUV which is priced at £31,000.

“That £1,000 differential will be recouped in a matter of months because of the much lower running, fuel and maintenance costs of the electric model,” said Leech, who added that he often found the misleading national press reports “frustrating and self-fulfilling”.

Leech also questions the claim that there is insufficient charging infrastructure to cope with current demand.

“Again, not true,” he said. “Our research amongst our customer base shows us that EV drivers who can charge at home in their driveaway or in a garage only need to use the public charging infrastructure five times a year on the occasions when they travel 200 miles or more.

“However, there are currently over 30,000 public charge points in UK in over 11,000 locations, with typically around 500 more being added every month on average.”