A lack of understanding around new electric vehicle (EV) charging rules could undermine the UK’s progress to net zero, EO Charging has warned following new research.
The EV charging firm found that nearly half (46%) of 500 UK fleet managers are either unaware or confused by the new law mandating the installation of smart EV chargers – set to come in this Thursday.
A further 26% falsely assumed the new rules would lead to increased running costs for their fleet. However, according to EO Charging, the average fleet transitioning to smart chargers can expect to benefit from around a 60% saving in long-term energy costs through effective load management and reductions in excess peak time charging.
EO Charging said that 73% of businesses it spoke to reported that their adoption of EV vehicles had been complicated or held back by recent changes to regulations and grants.
Indeed, the government earlier this month ended the plug-in car grant, with Edmund King, AA president, stating at the time that this “could stall this important move to electrification”.
Half of those interviewed by EO Charging (55%) said that changes such as those had increased business costs, while 30% agreed that EV rules and government guidance to date had been easy and low-cost to implement.
However, 81% of businesses have a clear EV strategy in place, with 50% implementing their plants. Meanwhile, 52% of businesses expect the shift to EVs to boost rather than undermine future profitability.
Charlie Jardine, CEO at EO Charging, said: “Bringing in new market policy or legislation isn’t easy; it takes time for an industry to adapt. But these businesses don’t have time – they’ve got a hard deadline to transition to electric and need to feel confident in the economic and environmental case for doing so.
“It’s vital that government and industry providers, like EO, do what we can to ensure confusion over these law changes does not slow down the pace of fleet electrification.”
It comes as EO Charging launches a commercial charger that is fully compliant with the regulations, the EO Genius 2.
The company is also launching the EO Mini Pro 3, which is to replace the EO Mini Pro 2 as EO Charging’s signature home charger.
Recent developments for EO Charging include a partnership with eEnergy, which is aiming to install at least 50,000 workplace EV chargers by 2030, as well as EO Charging expanding into the US, which in turn came after it listed on Nasdaq.
The most recent Current± Briefings delved into the smart charging regulations with Shell Recharge Solution’s regional manager UK & Nordics, Euan Moir. Watch the session here.