A national network of training venues has been set up by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) to meet rising demand from fleet managers.
The number of people who have taken courses this year at the body’s AFP Academy training arm has increased by 29% and Paul Hollick, chair, said more locations were needed to cope.
“In the past, we’ve been able to book venues to hold our in-person courses on a fairly informal basis but the increased number of training sessions we are now running across the UK means that finding appropriate facilities has become trickier.
“A more structured approach is needed and we have identified a number of AFP corporate members around the UK which have the space and are happy to become involved. They will form the core of our new, official network of AFP training venues and provide the capacity that we need to continue to expand in this important area of activity.”
Paul said that there had been noticeably higher interest in training immediately following the pandemic and that numbers continued to rise.
“When people were sitting at home avoiding Covid, it made sense that they had time to spend on honing and improving their skills. However, even now things have largely returned to normal, they are continuing to look for further training.
“Much of this is due to the fact that working in fleet at this moment in time is especially challenging and fleet managers are looking to become better equipped to handle a whole range of issues, notably electrification.”
He explained that among the most successful courses in 2024 had been a new half-day session on electric vehicle management.
“This very much appears to have hit a sweet spot and interest from fleet managers has been high but we are also seeing high demand for other courses, such as those introduced to help fleet managers, especially women, make their voices heard within their corporate environments, alongside our established four-tier core fleet skills courses.
“To meet rising demand, we’ve also added some excellent new trainers to the AFP Fleet Academy who will be known to many in the sector – Matt Dale, Paul Miers, Matt Neale and Derek Thornton – and will soon be issuing our 2025 training calendar. Training places for 2024 are almost booked up, so we’d advise fleet managers who are interested in enhancing their skills to book next year’s courses as soon as possible.”
Further details on the AFP Fleet Academy and its courses can be found at https://www.theafp.co.uk/education-training/.
The increasing number of older vehicles being operated by fleets means manufacturers are increasingly refusing longer-term, out-of-warranty claims, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is reporting.
The organisation says that with vans especially now being operated into six, seven and eight years, a range of claims issues are emerging that are creating intensive debate between manufacturers and fleets.
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said: “In the wake of the pandemic and subsequent vehicle shortages, many fleets were forced into extending their replacement cycles substantially and quite a few are continuing to operate aged vehicles even though supply is much improved.
“What fleets have learnt is that it is possible to keep vans on the road in safe and efficient condition for much longer than previously thought. However, this is also generating a new series of questions around maintenance and longer-term claims.
“Especially, manufacturers have historically tended to honour out-of-warranty claims on a goodwill basis if parts failed within recommended replacement schedules. Now, we are starting to see instances of these being refused for what look like debatable reasons, even if the vehicles in question have ostensibly complete service records.”
He pointed to the current example of a widespread issue where wet cambelts were failing on a popular model of van. The original recommended replacement for these was 10 years and 150,000 miles but the manufacturer recently changed this to six years and 100,000 miles not just for new vehicles, but the entire production run.
“Without wanting to single out this manufacturer, it appears as though a rash of claims has prompted them to change the replacement policy several years after these vehicles have been sold in an attempt to remove responsibility for further failures.
“It seems a definite move away from the goodwill approach, meaning that thousands of vans operated by AFP members are affected by the revised recommendation and need to have their cambelts changed right now. All of this places the cost onus very firmly on fleets that have arguably done nothing wrong.”
The key disadvantage of operating older vehicles, Paul added, was that maintenance costs tended to rise over time and rejected claims added to that issue.
“The argument for running older vehicles is essentially that while keeping them on the road is expensive, it outweighs the cost of a replacement vehicle. If manufacturers begin to refuse claims of this kind, the maths behind that thinking may start to shift.
“A further point to consider is that the rate of change stipulated by the ZEV Mandate means fleets are often making choices not between replacing an older diesel van with a newer one, but with an electric vehicle (EV). There are complex decisions to be made about balancing the cost of keeping the older vehicle on the road with an EV that is probably less operationally efficient.”
Five “easy wins” have been identified by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) that the industry body is aiming to promote to the new Labour government.
Board member Lorna McAteer said that the ideas would be relatively fast and simple to put into practice, cost little or nothing, and provide a wide range of benefits for the fleet sector.
She explained: “Everyone has a list of expensive measures for the incoming government and we would certainly like to see some of those enacted, such as a reduction or removal of VAT on public charging, but we thought it would be a useful exercise to put ourselves in the position of the government which, we all know, faces very real restrictions on spending at the moment. These are our thoughts.”
The first easy win is realism on electric vehicle (EV) policy. Lorna said: “Fleets and the manufacturers that supply them need to take a real world look at the rate of EV adoption in light of the experience of fleets over the last few years.
“Labour have said they will restore the 2030 target on EV manufacturing. It is now clear that this is possible for cars but just not practicable for vans. There are too many hurdles and the products available do not meet the needs of enough businesses. There is an argument for leaving the current 2035 target in place for all vehicles, with the ZEV mandates continuing, but if there is a return to 2030, it should be for cars only.”
Number two on the AFP list is EV labelling and education. Feedback from members shows that too many drivers and sometimes fleet managers don’t understand the charging capabilities of their vehicles, and it is not always easy to get hold of accurate information.
Lorna said: “A simple solution would be to have a label on the inside of the charge port flap that informs the driver of the maximum capability that vehicle has for AC and DC charging – for example, up to 11kwh AC and 115kwh DC. This will go a long way to helping drivers pick the right chargers for the capabilities of their vehicles. Manufacturers may push back on this idea as they can subsequently upgrade charging capabilities over the air but we believe there is a strong argument for providing information that is accurate at the time of sale.”
The third idea is for a standardised battery state of health check to be introduced. This was a measure included in the Labour manifesto. Lorna said: “There is a general acceptance that the second hand EV market needs help and an easy way of creating a higher degree of consumer confidence would be a government-backed battery state of health check that provides a statement of the kind of performance that used car and van buyers can expect from their vehicle. In our opinion, this is something that can’t happen too soon.”
Fourth on the AFP list is a push on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) battery storage, which has huge potential for the future in terms of grid decarbonisation and could also provide a boost to new and used EV sales as consumers become aware of the possibilities and benefits.
Lorna said: “EVs are big batteries on wheels and have a huge potential future part to play in making wider use of renewables more practical. However, while V2G is currently possible, it is something that has yet to enter the mainstream, even though there are now a million EVs on UK roads. We’d like to see clear government policy that is designed to promote V2G, spreading awareness of the concept among both new and used EV buyers, and the general public in a wider sense. Especially, we’d like to see clarification of where and when this type of battery storage can be used and for which applications.”
The final easy win is a relaxation of the planning laws to make installation of charge points faster and easier, both for businesses wanting their own chargers and by charge point operators for use by the public. Lorna said: “Planning rules at all levels are slowing down the rate that charge points can be installed right across the board. While we understand that this would need the backing of the grid, we would like to see much of the bureaucracy removed and planning regulations revised to speed up deployment. Planning is an area where Keir Starmer has promised to take off the brakes for the UK, and charge points should be part of this policy.”
In addition to these ideas, the AFP has already said that it would like to see the new government introduce benefit-in-kind company car tax tables through to 2029-30. It is now nearly two years since the current tables were announced and they only run until the 2027/28 tax year, meaning fleets buying vehicles today don’t know the tax rate their drivers will be charged towards the end of the decade.
Lorna said: “This is, in itself, a further easy win. It would cost little or nothing but would mean that fleets buying company cars on longer leases during the next year or so would have certainty about the tax their drivers are paying through to the end of the decade.”
The AFP recently issued its 2024 Tax and Regulation Manifesto which can be downloaded at https://www.theafp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Tax-Manifesto-2024.pdf.
Membership numbers at the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) have risen by 15% in the last year, the industry body is reporting.
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said that there were a number of factors behind the surge, including a desire to learn more about electrification and a growing awareness of the organisation.
“We’ve seen an increase in members right across the board, including both car and van operators, small and large fleets, and a wide diversity of suppliers. With the AFP now in its fifth year of operation since the merger of industry bodies, ACFO and the ICFM, there is a growing awareness across the sector of the energy that we bring to tackling fleet issues, our role as a voice for the industry, and the high level of practical assistance we provide.
“The latter is especially important as fleets continue on the road to electrification. We seem to be at a point in the process where much of the low hanging fruit has been gathered and we’re now into more of a process of grind. This is especially the case when it comes to vans, where a range of structural issues persist. Many of our new members are struggling in these areas, and looking for help and advice.”
Training had also been an important driver of membership for the AFP, he added, which was a crucial area given that the industry was suffering from a growing skills shortage.
“We’ve highlighted before that we believe an entire generation of high level fleet expertise will be lost through retirement in the next few years and this means that training the fleet managers of the future is crucial. We are continuing to grow both the number of people that we train and the variety of courses we offer.”
Paul added that there was considerable potential for AFP membership to continue to expand, which was likely to be achieved by concentrating on core fleet issues.
“We’re now at around 1,600 members but when you consider the number of businesses that operate vehicles in the UK, there is massive scope for further, ongoing growth, which we believe is likely to continue to happen naturally.
“Our aim is to continue to work to tackle the issues that are facing fleets today, especially with a new government now in place. Our list of concerns for the new administration were detailed in our recently launched Tax and Regulation Manifesto, incluidng resolving the 4.25 tonne electric van situation, obtaining benefit in kind taxation tables to 2030, and providing more support for the used electric vehicle market.”
AFP membership starts at £99 for individuals and £299 for fleet operator companies. A range of memberships are also available for fleet support providers ranging from £299 to £2,000.
Further details are available from [email protected] or by visiting theafp.co.uk.
Twelve volt battery technology needs to improve, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), as “bricking” issues continue to affect adoption of electric vans.
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said that despite widespread publicity, many fleets were still being left in a position where their vans become unuseable and had to be trailored to a dealership to be restarted.
He explained: “The fundamental problem here is that when an electric van is left unused for a couple of weeks, the 12v battery charges down and it becomes impossible to start or recharge the vehicle. There is no choice but to return it to the franchise dealer and even then, it can often take weeks to resolve the problem.
“We’re even hearing from members who are having electric vans delivered in this state and having to reject them immediately, which is completely unacceptable. It’s unavoidably having an impact on the appetite of some fleets to electrify their vans.
“The handful of manufacturers involved – and this affects several models – have been quite different in their responses with some being faster to work towards a solution than others.
“Our members generally accept that in adopting electric vans, they are close to the cutting edge of using new technology and some teething issues will occur. However, there is a general feeling that the 12 volt battery technology being used lags some distance behind the advances that have made in electric vehicle batteries that have been made in recent years, and a large perceived difference between the extremes of how much work these manufacturers appear to be putting into resolving the issue.”
Paul said the immediate solution that appeared to be most commonly suggested by manufacturers was revised software that would preserve the 12 volt battery for longer.
“Some manufacturers are telling us that the new software is in progress and could be here in a matter of weeks or months, while others are much vaguer. The latter aren’t winning many friends among fleet operators.
“Also, it’s worth underlining that even where a fix is available, we are being told that the bricking problem is still likely to occur, it will just take longer to happen, which again underlines the weakness of the underlying technology. However, even if it could be extended to 3-4 weeks to take users over holiday periods, that would be a definite advantage and improvement in practicality.”
He added that fleets were having to improvise solutions, with some investing in solar panels to trickle charge the 12 volt battery, but this solution also had limitations.
“We know of one AFP member that is looking at spending £1 million on solar panels, which provides some idea of the scope of the problem. This provides a fix but again, even though it potentially substantially lengthens the time taken, the van could still eventually brick. It’s looking more and more likely that this won’t be completely resolved until the next generation of electric vans. Manufacturers need to step up.”
The number of daily rental vehicles being offered to fleets with safety issues appears to be rising, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
The industry body says it is hearing reports from members being provided with hire cars and vans in unacceptable mechanical condition, with the situation appearing to be deteriorating.
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said: “This was a subject recently raised by our Mega Fleets Committee and appears to be a wider problem across the AFP. Essentially, we’re seeing hire vehicles being delivered to fleets that are not in a roadworthy condition.
“While this has always happened occasionally, there is a perception that the condition of hire vehicles is becoming noticeably poorer, although it appears to be a situation that appears to be affecting some hire companies more often than others.”
Paul said many of the issues seemed to be arising from both poor long-term maintenance, with vehicles breaking down being found to have a range of outstanding fault codes, as well as others being delivered with more immediate and easily apparent problems.
“The very least that a fleet should expect of its daily rental supplier is that vehicles are delivered in a roadworthy condition and sadly, that doesn’t always appear to be happening, even from some major suppliers.”
Daily rental companies had been through major changes in the last few years, he added, with their business models having effectively changed substantially.
“Pre-Covid, daily rental businesses bought cars and vans to operate on a fast cycle. Except for specialist vehicles, it was unusual to find a rental vehicle much older than a year.
“With the arrival of the pandemic, most embarked on massive disposal programmes but then experienced an immediate surge in demand once working practices returned to something approaching normality. Unable to return to a fast-cycle model due to production shortages, they bought from all kinds of sources, including a number of used vehicles.
“Largely, these are the cars and vans now seen on daily rental fleets, with many on 20 plates or older, which may explain the reason why issues surrounding condition are arising.”
Paul added that rental companies were perhaps experiencing difficulties when it came to managing the logistics around maintenance, especially the speed of delivery and collection, and rotating vehicles on hire.
“Running cars and vans over several years, through their first MOT and beyond, is something that many daily rental fleets simply haven’t had to deal with previously in this respect. “Our advice to fleets experiencing problems of this type is first of all to ensure that you don’t drive the vehicle and report it to the rental company. You then need to have serious conversations with your suppliers and if you are not satisfied with the answers, to look for new options. The time when you could assume a daily rental vehicle delivered for use by an employee was almost certainly safe for use appears to be past, at least for the moment.”
Announcing extended company car benefit in kind taxation tables should be “among first fleet jobs” for the new government, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
The industry body says it is now nearly two years since the current tables were announced and they only run until the 2027/28 tax year, meaning fleets buying vehicles today don’t know the tax rate their drivers will be charged towards the end of the decade.
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said: “There’s been something of a structural change in recent years, with the popularity of electric company cars on fleets meaning businesses have started operating longer replacement cycles to help offset their higher purchase cost, rising from typically three years to four or five.
“This means that we need the benefit in kind tables to extend longer into the future than was previously the norm. Our AFP Tax and Regulation Manifesto launched last week and one of its key demands is to see company car tax settled at least until the 2029-30 tax year. Clear, positive signalling is needed from the government to instil confidence for fleets buying future vehicles.
“In our view, this should be among the first fleet jobs for the incoming government, whoever that turns out to be, otherwise fleets are buying ‘blind’ without being able to tell drivers what BIK tax they will be paying in the future. That’s simply unfair.
“After a general election, the chancellor will normally create a Budget or Fiscal Statement within the first couple of months, and we’d very much like to see the new tables announced at that point. It’s an easy task and would create a much higher degree of certainty.”
Paul said that the AFP broadly accepted that benefit in kind rates on electric company cars would increase over time as they became widespread on fleets, but that it was important to maintain an incremental approach.
“Benefit in kind taxation on electric company cars has been rising at about one per cent every year and we believe that increases higher than this could easily prove counterproductive. While electric power has become almost the norm for many operators, it is largely the low hanging fruit that has been picked and we’re entering a more difficult phase.
“We’re now working our way through these trickier applications, notably where drivers don’t have charging available at their home or nearby, something that won’t be resolved properly until on-street charging infrastructure becomes widespread across the country. For these employees, low benefit in kind taxation is an important incentive to offset inconvenience.
“Also, as has been widely discussed, adoption of electric vans is proving much more difficult than for cars, and zero benefit in kind taxation for those van drivers should be maintained as long as possible in our opinion, alongside continuing exemption from road tax.”
The AFP Tax & Regulation Manifesto 2024 can be downloaded here
A revised Tax and Regulation Manifesto is being launched today by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) ahead of the General Election on July 4th.
The first edition of the document was created in 2021 and revised early last year. This latest version has grown to 24 points from the original 13, something that underlines the growing number of issues that fleets are facing at the moment, the organisation says.
New additions include finally resolving ongoing confusion over regulations surrounding 4.25 tonne electric vans, new benefit in kind taxation tables up to 2030, the removal of plans to introduce Vehicle Excise Duty on electric vans from April 2025, the need for fiscal support to make electric cars and vans more attractive in the used market, a better labelling scheme explaining the range of electric vans in different weather conditions and with different loads, and improvements to the charging infrastructure including regulatory and fiscal support for accessible, affordable and fit-for-purpose charge points.
Paul Hollick said: “Since the pandemic, the problems that fleets are facing seem to have multiplied, largely as we grapple with the implications of electrification and other zero emissions initiatives. Within our Future Mobility Committee and across our membership, we have been discussing the kind of help we would like to see from government and it is fortuitous that we are publishing this Manifesto just as the general election gets underway.
“Whoever wins power, we hope to work with them to help resolve these many issues, and the document represents the AFP’s core thinking about what needs to be done. It is designed to focus on practical ideas, ranging from quite small detail alterations to major strategic shifts, around which we believe that change or definition is required to enable businesses to move forward with their fleet and mobility plans faster and more effectively.”
He explained that the majority of the points added to the new edition of the document focussed on current issues experienced around van electrification.
“One of the undeniable facts in fleet over the last few years is that van electrification is proving much, much more difficult than for cars. We are now in the situation where the majority of new cars being added to fleets are electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids, a percentage that we very much expect to climb over the next few years in a steady and predictable manner towards the 2035 production deadline.
“The same is just not happening for vans. There are issues over the capabilities of the vehicles themselves that make their operational viability for some fleets open to question, while availability of charging is also an ongoing issue for many. In the company car sector, adoption has been powered by preferential benefit in kind taxation, and some kind of government support is needed to really get the electric van market moving in the same manner.”
Additionally, Paul said that interventions were needed in the used market, especially bearing in mind the large numbers of ex-company cars that were starting to enter remarketing.
“A properly functioning used market is essential for the electrification of the UK car parc but there are indications that issues remain, largely around the appetite of buyers for these vehicles. In several countries, governments are offering support such as the interest free loans being offered in Scotland, and we’d like to see more done here.
“The fact is that fleets need to be able to set realistic future residual values in order to viably operate electric cars and vans, and the used EV market needs to be quickly developed to a point of stability in order for this to be possible.”
He added that the AFP hoped the Tax and Regulation Manifesto would serve to prompt dialogue within the fleet industry and political circles, with the general election serving as a useful focal point for discussions.
“As an organisation, we would like to help enable those conversations to take place, and for whoever wins power to take a serious look at the resulting suggestions. Of the points we suggest, several could be implemented quite easily by any new government. Others, such as the need for discussions around a road tolling plan, are very much strategic and part of longer-term shifts in policy.”
The 24 points in the Tax and Regulation Manifesto are:
1. More support for electric vans
2. Confusion over regulations surrounding 4.25 tonne electric vans to be resolved.
3. Scrap plans to introduce Vehicle Excise Duty for electric vans
4. Better labelling for electric vehicles (EVs)
5. Support for used EV Sales
6. A national kerbside charging strategy is essential
7. Community charging projects
8. Chargepoint regulation
9. Move public charging VAT to 5%, in line with home charging.
10. Easy access to get charge points fitted…
11. … and VAT should be removed from home charger installation costs
12. Review of the AER
13. Actual cost definition for electric vehicle charging reimbursements
14. Clear signposting of EV initiatives is required
15. Benefit in kind tax tables to 2030
16. Clean Air Zones should be co-ordinated nationally
17. Tax breaks are needed for employees taking a mobility solution…
18. …for shared and low carbon mobility..
19. … and for hydrogen
20. Parking costs should be linked to shared mobility and public transport solutions
21. Inner city parking needs to be improved
22. The “available to use” rule needs updating
23. A clear definition of occasional private use is required for cars
24. Road tolling strategy needs to be clearly signposted
The Tax and Regulation Manifesto 2024 can be downloaded here.
The cost of highway charging is pricing some fleets out of electric vehicle adoption, says the Association of Fleet Professionals’ (AFP).
AFP chair Paul Hollick explained that for fleets whose drivers don’t have access to home or depot charging, the price of power made running costs sometimes unsustainable.
“We’re looking at a situation where using a public charger on the motorway might be 80 pence per kWh compared to perhaps a quarter of that or even less for people who have a charger on their drive.
“It’s a difficult situation. If you have drivers who live in a terraced house or an apartment so can’t install a charger at home, and who don’t often visit a location with car park or depot charging, then there is no choice but to use retail charging and it is exponentially more expensive.
“The whole total cost of ownership argument for EVs is very much based around low-cost charging. Electric cars and vans are relatively expensive to buy and residual values remain difficult to predict, but operators should be able to at least partially balance this out with low charging costs. Where this isn’t possible, some fleets are simply finding themselves priced out of electrification.”
The situation was unlikely to change until on-street charging infrastructure dramatically improved, Paul said, but this could potentially happen quite quickly.
“More and more, it feels as though massively improved public infrastructure is the number one element that would help EV adoption. Not only would widespread low-cost on-street charging help fleets with affordability but it would mean that day-to-day operation of electric vans would become more viable for many fleets by providing overnight facilities.
“It would also bring a potentially significant boost to the used EV market. We could relatively soon find ourselves in a situation where used electric car values fall to a point that they are opened up to a much wider range of buyers but that the charging options open to them are limited. Unless people can charge economically, they are understandably unlikely to buy.
“Really, what we want to see is a massive increase in on-street charging happen very rapidly and this is something that we would very much urge whichever government is elected this year to examine. Also, at the AFP, we’ve been working hard on mapping areas where charging is most required, and there are clear opportunities for fleets to work with local authorities who are accessing centralised Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding. There is the potential for change to happen quickly with a constructive approach.
“It does need to feel as though things are happening on the ground much more rapidly than is now the case. There needs to be visible, nearby, low-cost EV charging for all.”
Order quotas being stipulated by van manufacturers in response to the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate are creating a conundrum for operators, says the Association of Fleet Professionals’ (AFP).
The industry body is reporting that several major van makers are insisting that a proportion of all vehicle orders must be electric vans in order to reflect the percentage of ZEV vehicles they are now legally required to sell.
AFP chair Paul Hollick explained: “It’s quickly becoming a widespread practice that when a fleet wants to order a quantity of vans, manufacturers are asserting that a percentage is electric – often 10% to reflect the 2024 ZEV mandate.
“The problem is that some fleets just don’t have a role for these electric vans within their business. Their payload and range requirements mean there is no operational profile for which the electric van can be practically used, or there is no suitable charging infrastructure.”
Paul said that the situation presented a conundrum for fleets – whether to try and place orders with manufacturers who weren’t insisting on order quotas, to not replace existing diesel vehicles and keep operating them for longer, or to buy quota electric vans and use them for occasional lighter duties or simply park them up.
“All of these courses of action are far from ideal. Changing van supplier can be quite an arduous task for fleets, meaning that the whole van unit has to be rethought including fitting out. Hanging onto older vans that really need to be replaced means that you are likely to experience problems with reliability and has potential risk management and environmental implications. Lastly, it’s just not viable to buy expensive assets like electric vans and not really use them in the operational roles where you actually need a solution.”
Paul said that the situation was likely to become more acute quite rapidly, with the ZEV mandate for vans rising from 10% in 2024 to 70% in 2030.
“We fully understand why manufacturers are having to introduce order quotas of this type – it is very much a result of the legislation. In a sense, we are seeing the policy in action but the issue is that there are fleets for which electric vans don’t just mean acceptable compromises but effectively won’t work. For that to change, sizeable advances in both the capabilities of electric vans and their supporting charging infrastructure need to happen.”
Similar quotas were being introduced for car orders, he added, but this was not a problem for most fleets because they were already buying a majority of electric cars.
“Electrification for fleets is very much a story of huge success for cars and much slower progress for vans. While the ZEV mandate stipulates lower quotas for vans than cars, it doesn’t really reflect the extent of the differences in the speed of adoption.”