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Transport for London (TfL) collected £73.3 million in fines from drivers using London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), last year.

Drivers who fail to pay the £12.50 charge receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £180, although this figure is reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight.

The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, show that the ULEZ generated more than £224m in 2022 – an average of £18.7m per month – with £151.3m coming through daily charges. 

The ULEZ was introduced in April 2019 to cover central London before being expanded to the North/South Circular boundaries in October 2021.

It will be expanded across the whole of the capital from August 29.

Earlier this year, TfL estimated that the expansion of London’s ULEZ would be worth up to £300m in its first year. However, it said that income from the pollution-cutting scheme is expected to be “negligible” by 2027.

TfL’s group finance director, Patrick Doig, told the London Assembly, its “central estimate” is for the ULEZ to generate an additional £200m in the 12 months after it is expanded to the Greater London boundary, from August 29 this year, with a “50% plus or minus” range from £100m to £300m.

TfL says that 95% of vehicles in the zone are expected to be compliant when the expanded ULEZ goes live, avoiding the £12.50-a-day charge, and compliance rates will increase incrementally each year thereafter.

To help fleets comply, a £110 million scrappage scheme has been opened up to more firms ahead of the ULEZ expansion.

From the end of July, businesses registered in London with fewer than 50 employees will be able to apply.

Currently, charities, sole traders and businesses with 10 or fewer employees registered in London can apply to scrap a van (£5,000 grant) or a minibus (£7,000 grant), retrofit certain vans or minibuses (£5,000 grant) or scrap and replace a van or minibus with a fully electric vehicle (EV) (£7,500 or £9,500 grant respectively).

As well as allowing bigger operators to apply, charities operating in London will also be able to scrap or retrofit up to three vans or minibuses instead of just one.

Furthermore, there will be a new grace period for sole traders, microbusinesses, small businesses, and registered charities who have ordered brand-new compliant vehicles, or if they have booked an approved retrofit appointment for a non-compliant light van or minibus.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The price of diesel has fallen after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expressed concern of weakening competition in the retail fuel market, new RAC analysis shows.

It suggests that over the two weeks since May 15, when the CMA issued its road fuel market study update saying average supermarket margins in 2022 had increased compared to 2019, the average price of a litre of diesel at supermarkets fell by 7.44p, from 151.02p to 143.58p.

The gap between the average prices of a litre of petrol and diesel at supermarkets was 9p on May 15, but by Monday (May 29) this had shrunk to 2.5p.

The RAC believes, however, that supermarket diesel prices should still be around 6p a litre lower than they are today (137p) if a fair price was being charged.

By comparison, the UK-wide average price of diesel is currently 147.44p per litre with unleaded at 143.14p – a gap of more than 4p.

Throughout April, however, the gap at the pumps averaged 14p a litre despite wholesale diesel being 4p cheaper than petrol.

The average price of a litre of unleaded at a supermarket is currently 140.64p while diesel is 2.5p more expensive at 143.14p.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Since the Competition and Markets Authority’s made its announcement about supermarkets increasing their margins compared to three years ago and said they will be formally interviewing bosses, it appears the rate at which the price of diesel has fallen has sped up.

“Significant cuts to the price of supermarket diesel were long overdue as its wholesale price has been below petrol’s since the end of March. As a result average retailer margin on diesel had reached 22p a litre – more than three times the long-term average of 7p.

“Even today, with 27p having come off the average price of supermarket diesel since the start of the year, diesel drivers are continuing to get a poor deal.

“For two straight months it has cost retailers less to buy diesel on the wholesale market than it has petrol, yet they continue to charge more for diesel at the pumps.”

While wholesale price changes take some time to filter through to smaller forecourts which only buy new stock every few weeks, Williams says he cannot see any reason why the supermarkets still have not cut their prices to fairer levels as they buy much more frequently.

“We look forward to the results of the CMA’s review within the next four weeks and hope it heralds an end to poor value at the pumps,” he added.

“We also hope it means the biggest retailers start charging fair prices at all of their sites across the country, and not just at those where they’re competing directly with other forecourts locally.

“It can’t be right that the same brand can sell fuel for so much more in one part of the country than another – this sort of postcode lottery is wholly unfair to drivers and completely unjustifiable.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Fetch, a new on-demand car-hailing service using remote-controlled driverless vehicles, has been launched by Imperium Drive.

The service, which has undergone 18 months of testing, is first launching in Milton Keynes before being rolled out across the country.

It will be able to connect with other urban areas and key transport interchanges, such as airports.

Customers can hire a car through the Fetch app, stating when they need it and for how long.

An electric vehicle (EV), which is remotely controlled by an operator, is then delivered to them. The customer then drives the car themselves to their destination and when the rental period is up, the remote vehicle operator takes over and pilots the car back to base or to the next user.

Koosha Kaveh, the chief executive of Imperium Drive, said: “It’s driverless but not autonomous – yet.

“There’s still a human involved, but they’re sitting in a control centre piloting the vehicle in the same way you would a drone.

“When fully autonomous, we think this system has the potential to replace private car ownership in the UK. Why pay all the costs of having a car on your drive when you can just pay for one to arrive when you need it.

“For short trips, the service offers the same convenience as a ride-hailing or taxi service, but with the ability to cover greater distances at less than half the cost of services like Uber or Bolt.”

There are currently four cars in the Imperium Drive fleet, operating within a four-mile radius of the Milton Keynes city centre hub.

Further regional hubs are planned to enable intercity travel and airport transfers.

To ensure the safety of occupants and other road users, the cars have multiple cameras attached to them, giving the operator a 360-degree view, and the operating system uses computer image algorithms to detect anything near the car.

RAC road safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: “While this scheme has been tested very successfully over an 18-month period, we worry that the experience of remotely driving a vehicle distances the driver from the potential road safety consequences in a video game-like manner.

“Although the remote driver has a reasonable view in front and around them by not being present in the vehicle they are – like it or not – somewhat disconnected from the reality of actually being behind the wheel.

“There’s also a risk they could be distracted by something in the room where they are located. We also fear there could be serious consequences when this scheme is rolled out more widely and if the delivery distances were to be lengthened to take in faster roads.”

Imperium Drive’s leadership team has a combined 45 years of experience in telecoms, robotics, autonomous vehicles and advanced mobility, with more than 60 patents and over 500 scientific citations.

To watch the demonstration on YouTube click HERE

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Smart off-peak energy tariffs have the potential to save electric vehicle (EV) drivers hundreds of pounds, new analysis of more than 100,000 drivers suggests.

The research, conducted by EV charging app Bonnet, concludes that EV drivers can save up to £260 each year by using public chargers overnight.

Looking at where and how EV drivers refuel their electric cars, it found those taking advantage of smart off-peak energy tariffs have already saved hundreds of pounds this year.

Off-peak tariffs are currently offered in the UK by several major charging networks, such as GeniePoint and Chargy, and are especially helpful for the estimated third of drivers who are unable to install a charger at home.

The smart tariffs allow drivers to take advantage of cheaper rates overnight – though the exact hours and days vary by network.

Patrick Reich, CEO and co-founder of Bonnet, said: “This data will be welcome news for those looking to go electric but worried about not having access to a home charger.

“With the rollout of these innovative smart tariffs at public chargers, drivers are able to save hundreds of pounds annually – even with historically high electricity costs.”

Bonnet analysed recharging sessions undertaken through its app to create an average cost of those using peak tariffs, off-peak tariffs, and those combining off-peak with Bonnet’s Boost subscription – which further discounts driver costs by up to 15%.

EV drivers who used both off-peak tariffs and Bonnet’s Boost spent an average of £11.13 for a full charge – meanwhile those who did not take advantage of off-peak rates, and weren’t boost subscribers, spent a £16.19 on average for a full charge – an increase of almost 50% (46.5%).

Assuming normal use, over the course of a year, Bonnet’s data shows that EV drivers who take advantage of Bonnet’s Boost packages and off-peak tariffs can save £260 annually.

Reich said: “To make it easier for people to understand which chargers offer these tariffs, at Bonnet we’ve recently updated our app so drivers can easily find chargers with cheaper overnight rates.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to switch to electric vehicles and help protect our planet, and so will continue to ensure EV drivers have all the information they need to reduce their costs.”

Total off-peak savings analysis based on analysis of driver charging habits

Source: Bonnett – data analysed by Bonnet during May 2023 of more than 100,000 drivers.

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A lack of skills to work on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is putting road users at risk, according to a new report from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

It suggests that there are currently only 3,000 ADAS-certified technicians, yet 106,000 will be needed by 2030.   

Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI, said: “Drivers are becoming accustomed to and reliant upon autonomous features on their vehicles.

“Any failure could be catastrophic. For example, if a driver took a second too long to notice that their adaptive cruise control had failed on a motorway, they could easily suffer a serious high-speed collision with the vehicle in front.

“It would be a similar story if lane keeping assist, or the lane departure warning failed, and a driver drifted into the neighbouring lane in front of a faster vehicle.

“The risks could be even higher for more advanced features such as autosteer and automated lane change.”

It is the first time that the scale of level 2 autonomy in the UK car parc and the skills required to maintain it has been analysed.

It found that 5% of the UK car parc features level 2 autonomy (where the vehicle can control acceleration, braking, and steering), but there are currently only 3,000 technicians with IMI TechSafe qualifications to work on vehicles featuring ADAS.

In 2023 alone, the IMI estimates a shortfall of 6,000 technicians to support the UK car parc. By 2030, 44% of cars on UK roads will include ADAS, requiring a total of 106,000 qualified technicians

Based on current qualification and training trends, the IMI estimates that there will be a shortfall of 51,000 qualified technicians in just seven years.

Nash continued: “It is no exaggeration to say that it is a matter of life and death that these technologically advanced vehicles are maintained only by fully qualified technicians.

“The skills need is immediate with such a significant proportion of UK cars already using level 2 autonomy. It is also critical to recognise the serious economic impact of the skills gap.

“A lack of qualified workforce means delays in vehicle repairs, undermining UK mobility.”

While the IMI’s report highlights a big skills gap across the whole automotive aftermarket, there are several subsectors that are more advanced.

In particular, the accident repair, body and glazing sectors have a greater proportion of their workforce qualified to work with ADAS because of the critical role they play in repairing vehicles after accidents.

But there is still a gap in qualified technicians to service the current car parc, says the IMI.

This sector, which comprises a large number of independent repair shops, as well as dealership networks and large, multi-site repair organisations have invested in the latest tools and technologies as well as training for their workforce in order to remain competitive.

The IMI estimates that there are currently 1,800 technicians ADAS qualified in these subsectors with a requirement for 25,000 technicians ADAS qualified by 2030.

Nash said: “Autonomous vehicles rely on complex systems, including advanced electronics, sensors and software.

“Without the necessary skills to diagnose and fix issues with autonomous systems, the safety and reliability of the vehicles cannot be guaranteed.

“Not only that, the increasing integration of autonomous technology in vehicles means that technicians need to have a deep understanding of how different systems interact and work together, requiring a commitment to continuing professional development to keep up with the latest advancements in the field.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Contract Hire or leasing as it’s generally known relies on two things for the really cheap rates. Firstly the fleet discounts that can be passed on to consumers through the rates and secondly a buoyant used vehicle market, The higher the resale value the lower the rate. So drops in the used car market are not good news.

An imbalance between supply and demand in the used electric vehicle (EV) market could push prices down by up to a further 10%.

That’s according to Dean Bowkett of Bowkett Consulting, who says that consumer interest in EVs remains minimal against a backdrop of rising supply.

Used EVs have now fallen by 21.2% over the first four months of 2023 (from January 1 to May 1), according to analysis by Indicata.

In fact, according to recent analysis by the AA, some used EVs, with less than 10,000 miles on the clock, can now be bought for half the price of a new electric car.

Bowkett told the latest Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) member meeting: “We could soon be in a situation where for mainstream cars that are available with both petrol and electric drivetrains, the latter is marginally cheaper.”

Rupert Pontin, vice chair at the VRA, says that the future of EVs in the used car market is very much a live debate within its organisation.

“Indeed, there are those who believe that supply and demand are now balanced and can point to rising values for some models that appear to be underpriced,” he said.

“However, others believe that further falls in value will happen, and given the swingeing reductions seen over the last year, there is an extreme degree of caution in the market.”

He added: “Fighting the forces of supply and demand is tremendously difficult, and vehicle values are very much a dynamic outcome of those factors.”

The meeting also heard from Alastair Cassels of MHA on the three key issues facing motor manufacturers during the immediate future – the forthcoming zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, distribution costs and competition from new entrants.

He says that the ZEV mandate could have huge implications for manufacturers selling cars in the UK, including some of the biggest mainstream names.

“It is possible that for those who don’t meet the mandate’s targets, fines of £15,000 per vehicle could be imposed, which is a dramatic figure,” explained Cassels.

“Carmakers who don’t have sufficient EV representation in their ranges will be in very difficult positions and may have to do everything from buy credits from other manufacturers to strangling supply of petrol and diesel vehicles to balance their sales.”

The VRA meeting was held at the premises of VRA members City Auction Group in Peterborough, and also featured Rob Severs of iVendi looking at the impact of the new Consumer Duty regulations on motor finance, while there was a panel discussion looking at data issues currently affecting the remarketing sector featuring Jonathan Hartley, sales and marketing director, Jepson; Jeremy Raggett, account director, Autotek21 and Mark Rose, managing director, Tracker.

Pontin concluded: “Our members are living through a time when our sector is perhaps seeing more change than at any point during their working lives and the VRA is playing a crucial role in helping businesses keep abreast of the latest developments, something that can be seen in our growing membership base.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The cost of charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home has levelled out, but public charging continues to increase, according to new research published by Mina.

Analysis of data, based on more than 50,000 real-life charging events, reveals that the price of home-charging stayed level last month (April), at 32p per kWh, on average.

The cost of charging an EV on the public network, meanwhile, rose to 76p/kWh.

Mina CEO Ashley Tate said: “Our data is unique in that it records an actual electric vehicle user’s cost and consumption, at home and in public, and so every month we can build a far more accurate picture of what’s really going on than just extrapolating from energy and charge point providers’ headline figures as others may have to.”

He explained that its analysis showed that the “shocking leaps” in energy prices of last year are not happening anymore.

However, he said: “We’re still seeing public charging costs have been rising bit-by-bit every month, even into spring.

“At home it’s a different story. Costs have levelled out and the question now, especially with the announcement of the new price cap from July, is whether there will be a fall in home charging tariffs as energy prices drop this summer, or whether it may take a while for the wholesale prices to feed through to EV users.”

Ofgem announced recently that the standard variable tariff for domestic electricity rates will be lowered to 30p/kWh from July 1.

The reduction is down from the current 34p/kWh which has been in place since October 1, 2022.

Mina’s monthly report comes after analysis by the AA showed that the price of slow charging an electric vehicle (EV) on the public network increased by 5p/kWh in April, compared to March, while the fast-charging rate rose by 1p/kWh.

The figures, from the April 2023 AA EV Recharge Report, show an increase in slow charging costs by one supplier of EV charging at supermarkets pushed up the average price by 5p/kWh. However, it remains half the average cost of ultra-rapid charging when priced at a flat rate (as opposed to peak/off-peak pricing schemes).  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Tesla price cuts, the arrival of new manufacturers from China and an increase in production are resulting in fleets starting to see discounts on new electric vehicle (EV) orders.

That’s according to Mike Potter, CEO of Drive Electric, who told delegates at the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP)’s 2023 Conference, it was a sign that EVs are becoming a “normal part of the fleet market” as well as the sector seeing a return to something a little closer to “traditional market conditions”.

“We’re not talking about massive discounts but the time when all EVs were sold at list price appears to have passed, at least for the time being,” he said.

“The moves made by Tesla appeared to us to be designed to try to prompt some kind of price realignment in the EV market and, to some extent, that has worked – although it has arguably had negative effects in terms of setting future residual values.

“Certainly, others have had to look at their own sales to fleets and whether incentives needed to be introduced.”

He added: “New entrants from China have also been a factor.

“MG is now really established as a standard fleet choice at the entry level EV end of the market and the arrival of others such as BYD could have a similar impact in the mid-market.

“Their product appears to be strong enough to challenge existing players and if availability is good, they could mount a serious challenge.”

EV lead times ‘shortening’

Some fleet managers in the audience reported that lead times on EVs were starting to fall, sometimes substantially – although this could create its own problems.

Peter Milchard, AFP board member, said: “It was interesting during our panel discussion to hear that some fleets, who are sensibly placing EV orders 12-18 months ahead of when they actually need the vehicles based on recent supply experiences, are now seeing some of those orders arriving in 6-9 months.

“On one hand, it’s good news, because it suggests that lead times are returning to sensible levels in some instances, but it does mean that their orders are arriving a year earlier than they really need them, which can obviously be an issue in itself.”

Solus versus panel funding

The conference also debated the advantages of solus versus panel funding for fleets.

Steve Winter, of Appleridge Fleet Consultancy, said: “You can easily find differences of between £30-£100 per month on the same vehicle depending on the leasing company.

“These are not normally a sign of anything other than the appetite of that business for leasing you a certain kind of model of vehicle but does show the importance of benchmarking when it comes to vehicle acquisition.

“Fleets should consider having a panel of lenders is the right solution.”

The AFP conference took place at The British Motor Museum, Gaydon, and focus

ed on practical advice for fleets facing a range of current issues.

Sessions took the form of panel discussions with leading fleet managers chaired by AFP board members. These covered topics including handling supply matters, dealing with the rising costs of leasing and rental, managing an aged fleet, reimbursing drivers of electric vehicles, and optimising van fleets while gearing up for electrification.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said: “The ongoing impact of everything from the pandemic to the current economic crisis means fleet managers are facing a multitude of difficult issues for which there are often no easy answers such as rising costs across the board, ongoing supply difficulties, electrification of van operations and the ageing of their existing fleets.

“We wanted delegates to leave with ideas they can put straight into action – and the feedback that we are receiving suggests that the conference very much achieved that aim.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Old electric vehicle (EVs) batteries will be used to store solar-powered energy to fuel a fleet of new EVs.

North Tyneside Council is revitalising its Killingworth Site depot, in a multi-million-pound project supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

A core aim of this initiative is to futureproof the site for sustainability and energy efficiency.

The depot – which is home to around 1,000 council employees – now includes a solar PV array and car ports delivering 700 kilowatts at peak generating around 600,000kW/h of electricity each year.

There are also more than 40 EV chargers being installed in the coming months, which will increase as the authority transitions a significant part of its fleet to electric over the next few years.

However, realising it would be giving 15% of the solar energy it generated back to the grid, as it had no way of storing the excess energy created during daylight hours, the council turned to Connected Energy in an effort to use this excess electricity to charge its electric vans at night.

Connected Energy has developed a battery energy storage system (BESS), which is already used to support solar storage and EV charging across the UK and Europe.

Its E-Stor system uses batteries from end-of-life electric vans, giving them a second life.

Ian Lillie, strategic facilities manager for North Tyneside Council, with responsibility for the depot, said: “Since installing and commissioning the PV array in February 2023 we have already generated over 100,000kW of green energy. However, we’ve had to give back over 20,000kW to the grid because we can’t store it.

“By using Connected Energy’s battery energy storage system, we can capture that energy and use it to charge our electric vans and indeed the buildings on site overnight. And in the winter, we can use E-Stor to store energy from the grid on lower tariffs at night, to use during the day.

“The combination of solar and BESS should significantly reduce our electricity bills while also cutting carbon emissions from our energy consumption.”

Lillie continued: “E-Stor repurposes batteries from end-of-life electric vans, so the ability to power the vans of the future using batteries from the vans of the past was a compelling argument for us.

“On top of that, the scalability of the E-Stor solution means we can ramp up our use of BESS on site as the council expands its own EV fleet.”

Typically, the batteries still have up to 80% of their original energy storage capacity at the end of the vehicle’s life, making them ideal for this application.

Furthermore, Connected Energy’s intelligent management system enables E-Stor to integrate with solar PV, the grid, and other smart technology like building management systems.

Councillor Sandra Graham, council cabinet member for the environment, said: “Battery storage is an integral part of a decarbonised energy ecosystem, and it is a testament to the site’s inventive approach that this is one of the first systems of its kind to be installed in the North-East.

“The redevelopment of the site has given us an opportunity to take positive action in line with our carbon reduction commitment, and the use of battery storage will allow us to stockpile the energy that our solar plant generates, so that nothing goes to waste.”

Connected Energy has been developing and delivering battery energy storage projects for more than 10 years. The company’s HQ is based on the Newcastle Helix site.

Matthew Lumsden, CEO and founder of Connected Energy said: “The concept for our systems came from our work in the North-East on a number of electric vehicle trials and driven by the mission to find a second life use for EV batteries.

“We now have over 30 systems operating across the UK and Europe – however this will be our first installation in the North-East. We’re proud to see a system in action so close to our HQ and look forward to seeing the benefits it will bring to the location.”  By Graham hill thanks to Fleet News

While many organisations are electrifying their fleets with the main aim of reducing carbon emissions, cost still matters.

Traditionally, the typically higher purchase or lease rates of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) compared with an internal combustion engine (ICE) model have been mitigated by factors such as lower fuel and/or charging costs.

However, this advantage has been eroded significantly through the soaring cost of electricity.

Another traditional benefit for BEVs has been lower service, maintenance and repair (SMR) outlay.

It has been widely supposed they will deliver uniform SMR benefits over petrol and diesel vehicles because they have fewer mechanical parts, minimising the likelihood of breakdown and requiring less routine maintenance.

But with growing numbers of BEVs on the road giving more data in this area, does this expectation still hold true?

Yes, says Vincent St Claire, managing director of Fleet Assist, which has a network of 5,200 franchised and independent garages, but with a caveat.

“All the indicators are strong that SMR for BEVs will continue to be less than that for ICE vehicles,” he adds.

“However, while we are now in a period after the pandemic where BEVs are in proper real world use and we are seeing vehicles doing higher mileage than they’ve ever done, it is still a small sample and until we get a bigger data set in terms of numbers of BEVs, we can’t say with a high degree of conviction the issue is settled.”

In the first 10 months of last year, Fleet Assist saw the number of BEV SMR jobs on its network increase by 73% compared with the same period in 2021, but they still accounted for just 9% of its overall vehicle parc.

The company’s average cost of BEV SMR in 2022 was £171, 40% lower than all other vehicle types including ICE and hybrid (£243) compared with the previous year.

But the average age of ICE vehicles analysed last year was three-and-a-half years older than the equivalent BEV, which was likely due to the ICE vehicles being retained by fleets due to extended contracts and vehicle availability.

This combination would result in larger jobs and major components being fitted to ICE vehicles so has to be taken into consideration, says St Claire.

The most used components in ICE vehicles were, in order: brake pads, brake discs, bulbs, oil filters and pollen filters.

For BEVs these were pollen filters, bulbs, key fob batteries, wipers and brake fluid.

Rivus reports overall SMR costs for fully electric LCVs are 20% lower than for ICE equivalents, while the service costs are 65% lower.

The company has measured the costs by comparing BEVs seen by its service network with ICE vehicles which are from the same model line-up and registered at the same time.

“Given the LCV learnings we’ve had from our garages so far, the high-level figures do look quite positive,” says Sarah Gray, head of electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles at Rivus.

“When you put all the costs together in a bucket to have a look at how these sets of vehicles have performed, we’re looking at about 20% less cost overall at the moment for EVs, which is really positive news.

“What I would say, however, is we’re still in really early days. For example, the e-Vivaro has probably only been out for two-and-a-half years whereas the ICE Vivaro has probably been around for 20 years.

“When they come into our garage over a longer period of time we can start predicting what maintenance they might need, whether we need to make any changes in terms of service intervals etc.

“At the moment with BEVs, they may have just been in for one service and that could be a routine check and nothing is required.

“When we get further down the line and we start servicing vehicles in year three or year four, I don’t expect the savings to be as much as they seem now, but we’ll wait and see how they perform.”

Real world data from Epyx, however, shows a mixed picture for EV servicing costs compared with their petrol and diesel counterparts, with results heavily dependent on the vehicle model.

“At the outset, it should be underlined that fairly substantial caveats must be applied to this data,” says Charlie Brooks, strategy director at Epyx.

“In terms of the information available on 1link Service Network, there remain relatively few EVs of relevant ages and mileages.

“For the comparisons we’re quoting here, there are only around 170 vehicles in total. However, it shows, perhaps surprisingly, that the emerging picture is more mixed than might be expected.”

Its figures show the average cost of a service for a widely used battery electric hatchback over three years/25-30,000 miles was £164. Over the same cycle, an ICE hatchback was £220. The average repair cost for a fully-electric hatchback was £70, £10 more than its ICE counterpart.

For a large prestige SUV over two years/20-30,000 miles, the average service cost was also £164 for BEV models, and £279 for an ICE. As with the hatchbacks, the cost of repairs for an electric SUV (£81) is slightly more than an ICE SUV (£70).

Analysis of data from Kee Resources, which is used in the Fleet News company car tax calculator, reflects a mixed picture (see table, above).

Over a replacement cycle of four years/80,000 miles, a petrol Volvo XC40 B3 Plus has an SMR cost of 4.29 pence per mile (ppm): exactly the same as its Recharge Plus fully-electric sibling.

It is a similar story for the BMW X3: the fully electric iX3 M Sport will cost 4.77ppm in SMR, with the petrol xDrive20 M Sport at 4.90ppm.

There are still significant savings to be had with some models, however. A Hyundai Kona Electric Premium will cost 2.61ppm in SMR, 42% less than for the petrol 1.6h-GDi Premium.

“Broadly, while workshop costs for some EVs represent substantial savings over their petrol and diesel equivalents, this cannot be assumed,” says Brooks.

“Also, the number of times that EVs visit garages for maintenance or repair and the amount of time they spend unavailable off-road are consistently similar to ICE vehicles – and those servicing factors very much represent a substantial cost to business.”

Epyx data shows the electric hatchback averaged 5.7 visits to service outlets and spent 3.2 days off-road due to SMR issues.

These figures are very similar to the petrol version of the same model, which had 5.0 service visits and 4.5 days off-road.

The electric SUV delivered 4.1 visits compared with its petrol counterpart’s 4.0, but its 3.4 days off-road was superior to the ICE vehicle’s 4.9.

“What the data doesn’t tell us at this stage is why this is the case. There could be good reasons,” says Brooks.

“For example, EVs remain a relatively new technology when operated on a large scale and what we are seeing could be teething problems that may range from workshops being unfamiliar with these types of vehicles through to parts not being readily available.

“However, the bottom line at this stage is that fleet managers should not automatically believe that, in adopting EVs, they are going to see SMR benefits with every model.

“That situation may well change over time, but these comparisons show that we are not there yet.”

Tyres

Conventional wisdom has been that the tyre costs for a BEV would be greater than for an ICE vehicle because their extra weight and high instant torque would lead to higher wear.

This has been supported by data from Rivus, which has found tyre costs are 15% greater for a fully-electric van than its ICE counterpart, but wider evidence is inconclusive.

“If electric cars were fitted with the same tyres as ordinary vehicles, the rates of wear would be great: but they aren’t,” says a Kwik Fit spokesman.

“Electric car tyres are built to withstand the pressure of the increased battery weight and manufacturer improved not only the rubber compound and sidewall strength, but also the tread and groove design for resilience.

“As result, they are more expensive than regular tyres, but due to their strain-absorbing structure, they will wear down less quickly.”

Michelin says conventional tyres on a BEV would probably wear out around 20% faster than an EV-specific tyre.

Kwik Fit adds: “It seems then, that EV tyres do last longer, but this result comes with a caveat.

“Not only are EV tyres more expensive, but the rate of wear has a lot more to do with the driver than the tyre itself.”

Excessive braking, mileage, wheel alignment and tyre monitoring are the biggest influence on tyre lifespan.

Research released in March by Epyx found tyres for electric company cars are on average both bigger and more expensive than those for petrol or diesel equivalents.

The company found the average replacement tyre fitted to an EV is 18.59 inches and costs £207 while, for ICE cars, the corresponding figures are 17.40 inches and £130.

 Accident repairs

As with servicing and maintenance, the sample size of BEVs which have been involved in collisions is too small over too short a period to draw definitive conclusions.

However, in its analysis, Rivus has found the cost of repairing a fully-electric car after a collision is around 25% more than for an ICE equivalent, while this figure is around 55% for LCVs.

Its figures show the average accident repair cost of an ICE car is £1,155, a BEV £1,327 and a hybrid £1,733. For LCVs, the costs are £1,545 and £2,394 for ICE and electric models respectively.

Vehicle off-road time is also greater for EVs. Rivus analysis shows the average time off the road for a battery electric car is 10.9 days, hybrid 16 and an ICE car 8.9. For LCVs, this is 17.7 and 9.3 for electric and ICE respectively.

“In many circumstances, EV accident repair is no different from ICE vehicles,” says Adrian Watson, head of engineering at Thatcham Research.

“But under the hood lie everyday essentials, such as safe, cost-effective, timely post-accident repair and the surrounding claims process so critical to putting any new vehicle on the road.

“And nowhere is the difference between EV and ICE more clearly underlined than in the insurance claim chain.”

Watson says because EV batteries are expensive, OEMs rigorously protect them within crash structures which means they will rarely be affected by low-speed impacts.

However, challenges arise when the battery is involved, either directly or indirectly as a result of a collision, or indirectly when the high voltage system becomes associated with the repair.

Thatcham Research is to lead an Innovate UK-funded project focused on EV collision repair and salvage processes and their impact on insurance claims and their associated costs.

Other project partners include vehicle salvage, dismantling and recycling specialist Synetiq and LV= General Insurance.

In the first phase, the five-month project will focus on identifying where the claims workflow is different for EVs, revealing potential pain points.

Following this, Thatcham will use the findings to determine where more detailed work may be required in the future.

SMR industry facing EV skills shortage

A further issue facing the SMR industry is ensuring there are enough trained mechanics to work on electric vehicles (EVs) in the future.

At the end of last year, cross-party think-tank Social Market Foundation estimated Britain is facing a critical shortage of qualified technicians, who need specialist training to work on EVs due to the different technologies and potentially lethal high voltages involved.

In its A Vehicle for Change report, the organisation says that, by 2027, there will not be enough qualified mechanics to maintain all of Britain’s EVs, which risks driving up service costs and potentially leaving some drivers unable to have their vehicles maintained properly.

This followed a similar warning from the Institute of the Motoring Industry (IMI), which warned only 11% of technicians in the UK are qualified to work safely on EVs.

According to the IMI, there could be a shortfall of 25,100 qualified technicians by 2027.

“The skilled EV workforce is not keeping up with the sales of BEV, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles,” says Steve Nash, chief executive of the IMI.

“While manufacturers and their franchised dealers are committed to EV training, lack of funding means independents risk being left out in the cold and this risks consumer choice being restricted and EV servicing costs rising.”

The IMI is calling on the Government for £15 million funding to help get more technicians ‘EV ready’.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News