Businesses should “pick the lower hanging fruit first” when it comes to adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), FleetCheck is urging.

The fleet management software company says that easy wins are important when it comes to starting the process of electrification.

Peter Golding, managing director, said: “Fleets that are hanging back from starting to acquire EVs are quite often reticent because there are problems surrounding particular drivers and their vehicles, such as issues with vans being charged by drivers overnight. In some cases, this seems to bring about an inertia around the whole subject.

“However, our message to these businesses is to go for the lower hanging fruit first. In almost every fleet we have seen, there are instances where EV adoption is relatively easy and fleets should make those changes first and make them quickly. It is very much a matter of getting the ball rolling.”

In most cases, he added, the easiest drivers to swap into EVs were car users who had their own off-road parking and covered a predictable amount of mileage every day.

“These employees can have a charger installed and any EV with a sufficient range will meet their needs. In most companies, these people soon become enthusiastic advocates for electrification and spur on other potential users.

“However, even in parts of your fleet that may look like difficult areas for electrification, there will probably be opportunities for positive change, even if the transformation of your fleet is slowed. For example, operators of electric vans are often struggling to resolve problems with issues around payload, range and availability of home charging but there will probably be drivers who can work around those problems.

“It’s very much a case of where there is an opportunity for easy change, make that change. You are going to have to electrify your fleet and do so within a relatively short window, so do the easy work first in order to create momentum.

“In terms of ballpark figures, it is probable on many fleets that switching the final 20% of the fleet to electric power could be as difficult as the first 80% but that should not prevent you from getting the process underway. It’s very much a case of, for the moment, not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.”