Business fleet consultancy Fleet Alliance has seen a surge in orders of electric vehicles (EVs).
In the last 12 months, Fleet Alliance, which manages a fleet in excess of 30,000 vehicles, has seen a 214% increase in EV orders – and a rise of over 5,000% since the start of 2018.
The increase mirrors that seen at a national level as 2020, which was a record year for sales of battery and plug-in hybrid electric cars. Together, it accounted for more than one in 10 registrations – up from around one in 30 in 2019.
Demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) grew by 185.9% to 108,205 units, while registrations of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) rose 91.2% to 66,877, against an overall market slump.
The increased demand for EVs across the country is reflected in the make-up of the Fleet Alliance fleet. Among orders for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) in 2020, 48.2% were for pure EVs, up from 28.5% in 2019.
A further 48.9% were for petrol PHEVs although this figure was down from 68.9% the previous year as pure EVs gained in popularity at the expense of hybrids. Pure EVs now account for 15.2% of its managed fleet compared to only 3.8% in 2019 – and 0.3% in 2018.
New diesel cars from Fleet Alliance customers have decreased to just 26.2% of the fleet, compared with 45.4% last year, and 58.5% two years ago.
Orders of petrol cars, meanwhile, have plateaued and account for 35.9% of the Fleet Alliance fleet, compared with 35.3% last year, and 34.1% in 2018.
- image from Shutterstock
