Businesses are increasingly moving to electrification of transport, according to a new report from electric vehicle (EV) fuel and business expense payment firm Allstar.
It found that public electric vehicle (EV) chargers being used by Allstar customers has increased by 264% year-on-year. In addition, electric business drivers are plugging in 113% more from the comfort of their own homes.
The finding was in the company’s AllCosts report that takes proprietary data for many millions of transactions throughout the Allstar fuel card network, and hundreds of thousands of charging sessions in public and at home in the first quarter of 2024.
The insights aim to support businesses of all sizes operating fleets of all powertrains as they navigate the transition to alternative fuels and beyond.
It also found the cost of home charging has stayed level, despite the volatility in energy prices over the last few years, with the average tariff remaining the same as the previous three months at an average of 28p per kWh.
Using public chargers has become more expensive though, with drivers paying to recharge on the road on average 82p per kWh, an increase of 12p from the previous quarter.
Corporate fleets are at the forefront of electrification, and are using far more public charging and home charging than any other business size. A third (36%) of drivers now have a card for charging in public, while 21% also charge at home.
Commenting on the report, Ashley Tate, MD, Allstar Chargepass UK, said:
“The AllCosts report paints an interesting picture of the needs and wants of business drivers across the UK. Despite some having the perception that there are not enough chargers around the region, or a lack of accessibility, public charger use is up more than twice as much as the same time 12 months ago.
“We know that EV adoption has slowed in some areas, but businesses continue to turn to electric vehicles for their fleet operations.
“It is also important to look at the type of charging that the report represents, with recharging being significantly cheaper to do at home. But for those that are out and about and need to plug in, it seems that drivers and their businesses are happy to pay more if charging speeds are faster and downtime is minimised.”
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