EVs put Ireland’s fleet managers in the driving seat

According to new-car purchase figures published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), July was a record month for electric cars overall. New car registrations were up 25 per cent on the same month last year, to 27, 148.

Some 4,161 new electric vehicles (EVs) were registered, up more than 50 per cent on July 2022.

July is traditionally a busy month, propelled by half-year new registration plate bragging rights; however, in total, from January to July, 18,458 new EVs had been registered, compared to just over 11,000 in the same period last year, an increase of more than 65 per cent. That put plug-in hybrids and hybrids’ combined market share, year to date, at 43 per cent.

In a buoyant year for sales, the new-car market by July of this year stood 20 per cent ahead of the same period in 2022, less than 1 per cent behind that of pre-Covid 2019.

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Commercial registrations, both in the heavy and light sector, were also well ahead. However, SIMI director general Brian Cooke sounds a note of caution.

“Improved supply and a greater range of new models available for motorists has supported this momentum behind EVs,” he says. “The availability of SEAI grants to support positive decision making has been key and their retention beyond this year, along with other EV incentives, is vital if we want to build on this success.”

Cooke says the main impetus for EV growth came from consumers, who accounted for more than 76 per cent of sales and who qualified for grant support.

“However, there also needs to be a focus on the business market which, without grant support, really needs to see the extension of the benefit-in-kind reliefs in Budget 2024, while investment in the public charging infrastructure is also crucial at this stage,” he adds.

For business owners, the advantages of leasing equipment, from copiers to coffee machines – and including vehicles – is well understood. Leasing is a cash-flow solution which does away with the need for a large initial outlay. In its place is a fixed monthly cost, allowing for accurate budgeting and forecasting. When it comes to electrifying fleets, two companies are making particular inroads.

NiftiBusiness

Leasing specialist NiftiBusiness is set for expansion, supported by a recent partnering with AIB that saw the bank take a 50 per cent shareholding.

With NiftiBusiness, for a set monthly payment, business owners have the use of a vehicle for an agreed duration and mileage. The lease company provides vehicle maintenance, servicing, accident management and replacement-vehicle services to ensure the business stays mobile and incurs no downtime. It’s a flexible and fixed-cost solution that frees up capital that can be put into other parts of the business.

“It’s an end-to-end vehicle-leasing service. We advise the business, deliver it to the driver, and finance it. The business owner leases it for a fixed term at a fixed cost. It means you don’t have to spend a lot of money buying expensive, depreciating assets,” says Catherine Guy, chief executive of NiftiBusiness.

When working with a client, NiftiBusiness carries out a whole-of-life cost comparison, giving a breakdown of monthly rental costs to run a diesel, petrol or EV. It can suggest an EV that suits the customer’s budget and meets their needs.

It also handholds clients through the benefits to the company of going electric – and not only the environmental ones. With no engine and an automatic gear box, EVs require less maintenance. Despite price hikes, electricity is still cheaper than petrol or diesel, so they are cheaper to run.

Other benefits include a reduced benefit-in-kind treatment for electric vehicles, currently until 2025, though the industry is lobbying for that to be extended. Fuel savings are typically €200 per month based on 20,000 kms a year, NiftiBusiness says, with discounted tolls saving up to €500 a year per vehicle. They also enjoy lower road tax.

In advising businesses about the electrification of their fleet, NiftiBusiness walks the talk – or, rather, drives it. “We decided early on to pin our mast to sustainability and so our own fleet is 100 per cent electric,” says Guy. “We know it because we live it.”

Around a third of its fleet customers choose EVs. That will increase now that Covid-induced supply chain challenges, which reduced the variety of models available, have been rectified. “The product range and selection is now available and that includes light commercial EVs, which many businesses choose,” says Guy.

The electrification of the business fleet is inevitable, she says. “The vast majority of quotes we do now include an electric option. Increasingly businesses dealing with the sustainability agenda and targets see that converting all or a portion of their fleet to EVs has an immediate impact on their CO2 emissions levels. The take-up is going to increase exponentially over the next few years.”

Polestar

Luxury Swedish car brand Polestar made its debut on Irish roads last year with the launch of Polestar 2, a premium EV. Everything about the marque is innovative, including the fact that it is purchased via a simplified, 100 per cent digital process.

“To date we have delivered 381 cars across 24 counties in the Republic of Ireland,” says Kieran Campbell, market lead for Polestar Ireland, a positive start for a new brand with a single deliverable premium EV sold exclusively online from one location, in Dublin.

The range is expanding but whatever model buyers choose, for Polestar, it’s all about the drive. “Our focus is about the driving experience of our products. We don’t focus primarily on range or straight-line speed – our cars are meant to be driven the longer road home,” says Campbell.

That has no doubt played a key part in its performance in fleet motoring.

“The fleet sector in Ireland has embraced Polestar with open arms. More and more companies are moving their fleet to EV and, with access to stock without delay, we have seen significant uptake in orders for Polestar 2,” says Campbell.

“Operating an EV fleet has many benefits for a company. When looking at your total cost of ownership, you have no high fuel bills, reduced servicing costs as there are much less moving parts in an EV, access to accelerated capital allowance for having EVs on your fleet, reduced tolls, in some cases free public parking and, finally, you may have the lowest-level road tax too.”

It’s a market segment that Polestar is keen to pursue, in line with its mission to drive the change to electrification.

“At Polestar we are determined to improve the society we live in, using design and tech to accelerate the change to sustainable, electric mobility,” says Campbell.

As its product portfolio grows, so will its ability to meet more fleet requirements.

“We know that the fleet channel in all markets is representative of a high portion of road users and that the wrong vehicle can create a negative climate experience due to consistent high emissions. In a full EV Polestar this is not the case,” says Campbell.

“We see more and more companies approaching us to have our test-drive fleet on their site, so their staff can get the experience of Polestar.”