ROME – “The 102 charge” is the name of the latest survey promoted by the Top Thousand Corporate Mobility Observatory and by Fleet Magazine which highlights how the attitude of companies towards electric mobility is still in “prudent waiting”. The research has highlighted the growth in the propensity among fleet managers, as well as the percentage of electric vehicles in fleets but practical and cultural obstacles remain, preventing their adoption on a large scale. The survey was carried out on a sample of 102 companies of various sizes (large, medium, SMEs) and various product sectors, for a total managed fleet of 118,439 vehicles, of which 106,654 are rented and 3,612 electric units.
In the previous study carried out in 2019, also by the Observatory, e-mobility was still in its infancy while today it has become a reality, even if there are various obstacles to overcome. In fleets, diesel maintains the leadership, petrol is always preferred for travel in urban areas and on smaller segments, but hybrid and electric are gaining ground. The key figure highlighted by the study is that 57% of company vehicles in fleets travel less than 100 km per day, a distance that electric vehicles cover without problems, representing a widely practicable solution immediately.
The choice of electric is made for reasons of corporate social responsibility (almost 50% of the sample), to reduce the average emissions of their fleet (44%), and to benefit from the concessions in circulation (37%). The increase in autonomy (18%), government incentives (16%) and tax advantages, such as exemption from road tax (16%) also have a positive impact. The range of action of electric cars is also growing and in 55% of cases they are also used in extra-urban areas, albeit with distances below 100 km, since only 7% of fleet managers declared that trips over 200 km were made , most (65%) did not exceed 120 km.
It should also be noted that most of the fleet managers stated that the percentage of their colleagues willing to switch to electric does not exceed 10% due to the scarce spread of recharging points, refueling times that are too long, in addition to the cultural factor , with a strong reluctance on the part of many users to change habits, together with a lack of knowledge of electric motors. In short, the change is underway but occurs more slowly than the hybrid: 55 out of 102 respondents declared that they will not increase the share of electric in their fleets.
Despite this, the forecast for the inclusion of electric cars in car fleets in the next 12 months indicated by the interviewees should reach 4,440 units, albeit with significant variations from company to company and much will depend on the advantage of the fees and advice from rental companies. .
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