Michael Pullan, Senior Communications Manager

T: 07557 619446

E: Michael.Pullan@britishgas.co.uk

  • 34% of firms planning on putting charging points in employees’ homes
  • 81% claim the increase of home working during the pandemic has directly influenced their plans
  • Upfront costs and operational challenges remain a key barrier to widespread adoption of home charging

A third (34%) of UK businesses are set to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points at employees’ homes as they electrify their fleets, according to a new study from Centrica Business Solutions.

The research, Powering Ahead: The Future of Electric Vehicles for Business, found that eight in ten (81%) firms say the rise in home working during the pandemic has driven them to consider installing charging points in employees’ homes, as a way to support flexible working.

Firms reported that one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption was managing the complexities of employees charging EVs at home and at public charging points (42%). But with the government’s ban on internal combustion engine vehicles less than a decade away, the data suggests that firms are prepared to act rather than risk delaying their own EV rollout.

Those firms with no plans to install remote charging points say the barriers to adoption include upfront cost (53%), operational challenges (41%) and a lack of knowledge about installation partners (35%).

The news comes after it was revealed UK businesses planned to invest £15.8bn in the electrification of their fleets over the next year, a 50% uplift on their spending during the previous 12 months.

But, the pandemic has caused one in ten (13%) to cancel their EV plans altogether, with a larger proportion of a fifth (20%) reporting that COVID-19 has actually accelerated their existing plans to invest in EVs.

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Home charging technology

Advances in fleet charging management systems now mean that home charging points can be directly integrated with business’ payroll management software. These systems automatically reimburse drivers for business-use energy consumption. Monthly statements, showing all charging transactions, can be created and sent to fleet managers, helping to increase the productivity and profitability of a business’s fleet.

To download the full report, visit: https://www.centricabusinesssolutions.com/businesses-power-ahead-ev.

NOTES

About Centrica Business Solutions:

Centrica Business Solutions is part of Centrica, a leading energy services and solutions provider founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people. We analyse, finance, install, operate & optimise energy, working across energy sources to transform the way businesses acquire, consume and manage their power.

We work with businesses across the UK, Ireland, Europe and North America. Combining colleague’s expertise and a range of integrated energy solutions – such as efficiency and insights, electric vehicle enablement, solar, heat pumps and batteries, as well as business energy supply – we help commercial, industrial and public sector organisations become more efficient, resilient and sustainable.

In the UK, we manage a portfolio of our own and customer-owned flexible power assets, which respond to peaks in demand to provide grid stability. Our purpose of helping customers live sustainably, simply and affordably drives our strategy and our People and Planet Plan.

About the research:

A survey of 200 UK-based business with a turnover in excess of £1million and operating a least one vehicle was carried out on behalf of Centrica by research agency Coleman Parkes between February and March 2021. ‘Electric vehicles’ were defined in the survey as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

A more detailed methodology on the figures in the release can be provided on request.