Delegates attending this week’s Fleet & Mobility Live show will gain access to tips on expanding their electric vehicle (EV) fleets with an in-depth case study from OVO Energy.

The biggest fleet industry event of the year kicks-off tomorrow at the NEC near Birmingham with two days packed full of content and expert best practice and strategic presentations.

Ben Guest, OVO Energy field services director, will be speaking at the show on October 6 about his company’s challenge to move to an 100% EV fleet by 2030.

The commercial fleet has an even more ambitious deadline to get to 100% EV before the end of 2025.

The business has already taken on 26 Nissan e-NV200 vans this year and is taking delivery of 1,084 Vauxhall Vivaro-E’s over the next 14 months, in-fleeting them all by December 2022.

The presentation will share some of OVO’s experiences and challenges in bringing its teams of drivers on a journey towards full electrification.

The session will also look at OVO’s approach to incentivisation and recognition of its drivers in order to build support and advocacy of the use of EVs.

Guest says: “The biggest challenge so far has been finding a van that gives us the load capacity, range and driver comforts at the right price point.

“We’ve now committed to a partnership with Vauxhall, via our leasing provider Zenith, and will work closely with them to ensure we achieve our 90% battery powered EV commercial fleet goal by 2022.”

Around half of OVO’s drivers will depend on a reliable public charger network, which Guest says “unfortunately doesn’t exist today”. 

He says: “I’m hopeful that with sustained investment the availability of chargers that can recharge our vans in 10 – 15 minutes max will improve and we’ll be able to offer our drivers a similar experience to what they are used to today when filling up at a forecourt.”

Guest says that when OVO committed to its EV fleet transition, it knew there would need to be careful planning to retain the company’s focus on operational efficiency.

To effectively manage its EV fleet OVO needed to find a solution to planning, scheduling, and allocating work that finds the right balance between customer promise, maximum vehicle range, available charging stations and recharge times.

Guest’s advice for fleets planning their own EV switch including planning for requirements in the short-term, as well as the long-term.

He adds: “Start with a small fleet of EVs and look for new digital tools that can help with direct payments for charging; select suppliers that will help you with financing, maintenance and repair, selecting the right vehicles and helping your drivers transition to an electric vehicle.”

• Register for free now for Fleet & Mobility Live and gain access to 20 seminar sessions from over 25 expert speakers across three theatre areas: Operational Excellence, Strategy and Benefits Box.