A new course has been introduced by the Association of Fleet Professionals’ (AFP) Fleet Academy in response to demand for training aimed at employees involved in fleet administration.

The Fleet Vehicle Management Foundation course is designed for people in fleet administrator, co-ordinator and customer service roles, and is suitable for those employed by both fleet operators and fleet service providers.

The two-day trainer-led course covers topics including fleet sector roles and responsibilities, opportunities and challenges; supporting customers and other stakeholders; core elements of fleet administration including compliance; understanding key terms and processes; developing communication skills; and vehicle lifecycle from acquisition to disposal. A register of interest has been opened and it is planned to hold the first courses in early 2024.

Ronnie Gillman, training manager at the AFP, said: “The Foundation training sits between our established Introductory and Strategic courses on our Fleet Vehicle Management pathway. Some of those interested in attending will ultimately want to become fleet managers but others will see their long-term career very much in the administrative side of car and van operations which is, of course, an essential part of the industry in itself.

“The course was born out of training forum, where members highlighted that there was a real need for a course aimed at fleet administrators. A number of other members have asked for this course so we are anticipating high levels of interest. It meets a need that has probably existed across the fleet industry for some time.”

More details about the Foundation Course are available at https://www.theafp.co.uk/fleet-vehicle-management-foundation while further information on the AFP Fleet Academy’s entire 2024 training schedule will be released soon.

Ongoing confusion over regulations surrounding 4.25 tonne electric vans mean that the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is urging fleets to “step up” lobbying of the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) and the Driver Vehicle Standards Authority (DVSA).

In 2019, a special concession was created by the Department of Transport (DFT) for electric vans. Normally, an individual with a standard B licence would only be able to drive a light commercial vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes but recognising the extra weight added by batteries, this was extended to 4.25 tonnes.

However, with 4.25 tonne electric vans starting to come to market in quantity during the last year, a situation has emerged whereby OZEV believe the vehicles have been deregulated from all of the operator responsibilities that normally apply to vans over 3.5 tonnes whereas the DVSA and the DFT believe some still apply.

Confusion has surrounded what exactly these additional operational requirements may be but according to the AFP’s current interpretation, include an MOT test every 12 months from new and a speed limiter to be fitted. In addition, any vehicles operating outside of a 100km radius of the base would be required to comply with EU driver hours rules and a tachograph would be required. However, for vehicles operating within the 100km radius a tachograph is not needed and should not be specified because it will then need calibration at MOT, and neither is an O licence required.

Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, explained that the situation had caused consternation among its members, with many cancelling their orders for 4.25 tonne vans because of ongoing lack of clarity about the additional requirements surrounding these vans and the possibility that they may find themselves inadvertently breaking the law if they simply treated them like a 3.5 tonne diesel van.

He said: “We’re big fans of the 4.25 tonne derogation. It makes absolute sense that the adoption of electric vans around the crucial 3.5 tonne mark should be made easier for as many fleets as possible. However, what we are seeing is confusion with, to adopt an old cliché, the left arm and the right arm of Government seemingly at odds. This wouldn’t be so bad if the situation hadn’t now been dragging on for several months. It’s incredibly frustrating.

“Fleets are receiving all kinds of conflicting advice – not just from OZEV and the DVSA but manufacturers, dealers, leasing companies and others – with no resolution in sight. Instead, they’re understandably throwing their hands up in the air and we hear of many operators simply cancelling orders.”

Paul said that the AFP was now stepping up its lobbying of OZEV, the DVSA and the DFT to bring their interpretations into line with the original intention that 4.25 tonne vans can be operated exactly like their 3.5 tonne equivalents – and was asking individual fleet operators do the same.

“We’re urging as many people within the fleet industry to make their feelings known as soon as possible. It really does seem that at a point in time when we should be seeing the Government help to enable large scale adoption of electric vans for major operators, they’re allowing a small muddle to fester into a minor crisis. We first highlighted this issue in May and little or no progress seems to have been made. It needs to be resolved now.”

He added that the issue was adding to a general sense among some fleets that operating electric vans was simply not worth the hassle in the short-medium term.

“As the AFP has detailed in recent months, electric van adoption is generally proving much more difficult for many fleets than electric cars. This is especially true given concerns over range and payload, while unnecessary problems such as these 4.25 tonne issues create additional hurdles that are proving frustratingly difficult to sort out.”

The government’s extension of the electric vehicle (EV) production deadline to 2035 will  “change little” for car fleets but probably acknowledges a reality for van operators, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

Chair Paul Hollick explained that the overwhelming reaction from the organisation’s members had been that the delay was a nakedly political move and that the core facts of the change were likely to have a limited impact on real world fleet strategies.

He said: “There is a sense of what you might characterise as annoyance surrounding this. Businesses have put in huge amounts of work on electrification and spent substantial sums. The fact that the deadline can then be moved in what appears to be a fairly arbitrary manner doesn’t endear the government to fleets.

“Also, it should be acknowledged that many, many of our members take net zero very seriously at a corporate level and believe that we should be electrifying as quickly as possible, despite some of the obstacles that remain. There is a sense that the government doesn’t necessarily share that priority.”

However, he said, the general consensus was that car fleet strategies would remain largely untouched, while many van operators had already held strong doubts that the 2030 deadline could be met and the move to 2035 simply acted as an official acknowledgment.

“When it comes to cars, benefit-in-kind taxation hugely favouring EVs and the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate remain in place and there are apparently no plans to change them. This means fleets will continue to electrify their car fleets at a rapid pace and the government’s decision will change little.

“Within a few years and well before 2035, it may be quite difficult to buy a new non-electric vehicle anyway. The fact is that the UK forms a small part of the global car market and the decision to delay electrification here is not going to noticeably impact on manufacturer plans to end internal combustion engine production.

“The picture could be different for vans, though, we believe. It has become clear to many of our members over the last year or more that electrifying their light commercial vehicle fleets by the end of the decade was going to be a big ask. Neither the vehicle designs nor the charging infrastructure appear to be ready to meet the needs of all fleets, and there was a growing sense, at least among some, that this would have to be acknowledged sooner or later by the government.”

Paul added that despite this, many AFP members would no doubt keep their plans for 2030 van electrification in place as part of their net zero strategies.

“We have operators who are deeply committed to this target or even sooner at a corporate level and none of them have so far indicated any change plus, of course, the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate applies here, too. However, we expect that some businesses will now attempt to slow van electrification, with plug-in hybrids perhaps acting as a medium term stepping stone.”

A new project from the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is aiming to create the “definitive picture” when it comes to comparing electric vehicle (EV) service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs to their internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents.

Paul Hollick chair at the AFP, said that much of the current data and information surrounding the subject was incomplete, inconsistent or contradictory – and that the objective was to cut through the noise to provide something as close as possible to a conclusive guide.

“There’s been an assumption ever since EVs started appearing on fleets that their SMR would be substantially cheaper than petrol and diesel cars and vans because there are fewer moving and wear parts. However, real world data has until recently been in short supply because comparatively few fleets have been operating EVs for any length of time.

“Various sources have been issuing what you might call work-in-progress SMR data over the last year or more, providing a snapshot picture of their experiences with EVs but it has been difficult to build a consistent picture. Some are reporting that SMR profiles are cheaper than ICE vehicles, as expected, but others have seen a more complex picture across different models and types of vehicle, especially when it comes to the wear and prices of EV tyres.

“This is problematic for fleets because it means that they don’t really have access to information that can show whether what they are spending on EV SMR is broadly consistent with what is being seen across the rest of the fleet sector. They have no way of knowing whether their managerial performance is good, bad or indifferent, and therefore no credible route to benchmarking or developing best practice.

“Many businesses are keen to tackle these issues in order to decide whether to bring their EV SMR in-house, something that many of our members appear to be currently considering.”

Paul said that now also seemed a good time to look at this situation because a comparatively large amount of SMR EV data was starting to become available.

“There are now quite a lot of fleets that now have two, three and even four-year-old electric cars, so we are close to having complete life cycles on which to base our research, showing how EVs stand up to wear and tear over a period of time, and how this impacts on the amount of SMR they need.

“We’re not really in that situation with electric vans yet – even the most experienced fleets don’t tend to have many that are much more than a year old – but we’re going to aim to provide as much information as we can in that area.

“We’ve appointed an independent consultant to lead the research as soon as possible and produce initial results by the end of September. This is a fleet subject where it seems to us that some kind of definitive picture is very much needed, and the AFP is well positioned to meet that requirement.”

 

Two new deputy chairs have been appointed by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

Lorna McAtear and Matt Hammond have replaced the outgoing deputy chair, Stewart Lightbody.

Lorna is a winner of the Barbara Cox Award, Greenfleet’s Outstanding Achievement Award for her services to the industry and Head of Fleet at National Grid. She holds an international CPC, is a regular and respected contributor at industry conferences and round tables, an AFP board member and a judge for the Fleet News Awards.

Also an AFP board member, Matt is current Fleet News Fleet Manager of the Year, and a national and international CPC holder with over 12 years of experience in transport and fleet management. He is a winner of the Fleet News Safe Fleet Award, as well as Road Risk Manager of the Year at the Brake Fleet Awards, and Fleet Manager of the Year at both the What Van and Business Car Awards.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said: “Lorna and Matt are extremely well known and respected across the fleet sector with a huge amount of expertise. We are sure they will prove important assets to our organisation in their new deputy chair roles.”

He added that the move to two deputy chairs had been made in recognition of the diversity of knowledge and skills that the position demanded.

“In the three years since it was created, the AFP has grown rapidly, with a large number of events, projects, committees and training courses all underway. The deputy chair role is important to making sure that all of these commitments are fulfilled so it was decided that the role should be shared by two people, who are after all, volunteers.

“Stewart has done an excellent job over the last few years and we’d like to express our thanks to him for bringing great expertise and panache to the position. He remains a member of our board and a key part of the AFP.”

A “dramatic” rise in the amount of training delivered by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) through its Fleet Academy has been reported, with the number of training days sold in 2023 already surpassing last year’s total.

Paul Hollick chair at the AFP, said that the increase reflected several trends including higher interest in formal training among fleet industry professionals and a general post-pandemic move across the workforce to enhance levels of qualification.

“During 2021 and 2022, we saw a definite increase in fleet managers looking to upskill to meet current and future fleet challenges such as electrification, so we increased our potential capacity for places this year by 85% – a decision which has been vindicated by a dramatic increase in training days and also delegates, which is very pleasing to see.

“Additionally, we decided at the end of last year to freeze our training fees, given the pressure currently being placed on personal and business finances, which has also turned out to be very much the right choice. Good training should be attainable, in our opinion.

“Last year, we delivered 161 training days in total and this year, we have already sold 190, meaning that we could be close to 300 by the end of 2023. It just shows how much interest exists across the fleet industry in this kind of upskilling.”

Paul added that the AFP Fleet Academy, although an evolution of training delivered by the Institute of Car Fleet Management, remained a relatively new endeavour and awareness of the courses it provided was increasing all the time.

“Given the progress made by the Fleet Academy since its launch in 2021, it seems to us that there is potentially a huge amount of untapped interest in training across the fleet sector that will be realised as more people learn about the services we deliver.

“Also, satisfaction is high, with our courses scoring 4.9 out of 5.0 when measured on the likelihood of recommending the course, and trainer knowledge and guidance.’

Through the remainder of 2023, courses provided by the AFP Fleet Academy – many of which are accredited by the Institute of the Motor Industry – include the popular Fleet Vehicle Management Strategic, recommended for those with responsibility for managing a vehicle fleet, with a new in-person cohort starting on 26^th September. The course is also available in an online, distant learning format, which can be started at any time.

The recently-launched Accelerate – Women’s Voices in Fleet course, designed to help women in fleet make their voices heard in a corporate environment, will run again on 10^th-11^th October, while the next Fleet Vehicle Management Advanced course, aimed at those in senior roles who are leading teams that manage a vehicle fleet, will start in 2024.

The Fleet Vehicle Management Introductory course, designed for anyone who is new to the fleet industry, developing in their role, or who needs a refresher in fleet basics, can be progressed any time online.

Finally, two electric vehicle courses, Making The Switch to Electric Vehicles and Transition to eLCV, are run on demand and can be held face-to-face or online.

More details about all of AFP’s courses and available dates, as well as information about tailored training, can be found at www.theafp.co.uk.

Experienced fleet managers are being sought by the Association of Fleet Professionals to help deliver a new apprenticeship standard for fleet specialists.

Up to 20 individuals are required to form a “trailblazing” group to create an apprenticeship standard, working alongside the Institute for Apprenticeships. When the content is approved, they will be expected to recruit apprentices into their organisation.

AFP member Matt Neale, who is leading the apprenticeship drive, said: “Once the structure of the apprenticeship is finalised, the trailblazing group need to be ready to recruit apprentices straight away.

“So far, we have eight fleet managers and their companies willing to make this pledge, but we need another 10 or more in order to get the final go-ahead for the apprenticeship. We’re therefore very keen to hear from people and their employers who are interested in taking part.

“By the time everything is hopefully in place, apprentice recruitment would need to start in 2025, so there is quite a lot of time for companies to make plans and get funding approved internally – but we do need a commitment relatively soon.”

Matt explained that initially the apprenticeship was likely to be Level 3, designed to provide an entry point into the sector, appealing mainly to school and college leavers.

“We need administrators to start the journey into the fleet sector because they are integral to the daily running of fleets. Once they have completed their apprenticeship, they can progress towards becoming a fleet manager, which is where the AFP’s structured range of training courses can help develop individuals. This is the journey that I have taken through the industry.

“Currently, the issue is we just don’t have enough talent coming through at the entry level to create a succession process and replace the many experienced fleet professionals who are within a few years of retiring. Knowledge and experience are in danger of being lost from our industry and the apprenticeship could be an important step in preventing this.”

Paul Hollick, AFP chair, added: “The creation of a fleet specialist apprenticeship standard would be a huge boost to the industry. While there are many highly qualified and capable fleet managers in our sector, supported by training and qualifications available through the AFP Fleet Academy, this is not a profession with a recognised entry route. Having an apprenticeship would change that and provide a structured career path into the fleet sector.

“In the future, especially as fleet managers continue to evolve into mobility specialists, an apprenticeship could sit alongside career choices in other corporate specialisms such as human resources and procurement, providing a steady stream of talented individuals into the sector.”

Paul explained that while the AFP fully backed the idea of an apprenticeship, the creation of any new initiative needed to be almost entirely reliant on industry participation.

“The way that the apprenticeship approval process is structured means the AFP can only play an enabling role and getting people on board. Much of the work so far has been done on an individual basis by Matt Neale, working with other members of our organisation, so much kudos to him.”

Anyone interested in becoming part of the apprenticeship trailblazing group should get in touch with the AFP at [email protected].

Paul said: “This is very much a question of employers putting their money where their mouths are. If the industry wants a fleet apprenticeship standard – and we believe it needs one – there must be a group of businesses willing to participate in the process and ultimately create jobs, putting in place the support, resources and mechanisms that apprentices need.”

Van fleets are returning to established strategies designed to reduce emissions as many choose to slow their electrification process, the Association of Fleet Professionals is reporting.

An increasing number are working to further reduce CO2 in their existing diesel vehicles rather than adopt further electric vehicles (EVs), explained Paul Hollick, chair of the industry body.

“There has been a general assumption among van fleets in recent years that the arrival of EVs would mean a decisive move towards meeting corporate ESG targets in the medium-long term but, for many, it has become clear that electrification is just not going to happen at the expected speed, so they are returning to established strategies.

“There is a renewed interest in areas such as utilisation analysis, driver training and idling reduction, all of which can help to cut CO2, NOx and other emissions. Interestingly, this doesn’t appear to be just a case of returning to the ‘old school’, with new products designed to help fleet managers in this area continuing to make their way to market.”

Paul said that the trend was very much a result of van fleets slowing their adoption of EVs in the face of several difficulties.

“Many of our members who were committed to electric van adoption as soon as supply was available have slowed or even put a temporary halt on the rate of acquisition. They are hitting a range of operational issues – range, payload, charging infrastructure and more – that means replacing existing diesel vehicles directly with electric equivalents is not yet practical.

“This doesn’t mean that they are intending to resist electrification but that more work needs to be done in all kinds of areas including domestic and public charging, changes in operational practices and improvements in the vehicles themselves.”

An area of frustration for some AFP members, Paul added, was the lack of action being taken when it came to making hydrogen a practical alternative to electrification for vans.

“In other European countries, there is considerable public and private investment underway in creating a hydrogen transport infrastructure but in the UK, it barely exists. This means that the hydrogen vans that are entering production globally are unlikely to make their way here in anything other than very small numbers.

“Many fleet operators believe a mix of hydrogen and electric power would be ideal for the van fleets of the future, and it does feel as though this is a potential solution that is being effectively denied for no good reason. There may also be a role for synthetic fuels and this is something that needs further investigation.”

More accurate range labelling is needed on electric vans, according to the Association of Fleet Professionals, with real world experience of users often falling well short of WLTP figures.

Paul Hollick, chair at the industry body, said some of its members were finding that the degrees of variation seen in operation across different conditions meant that the official range was an inadequate guide to actual performance.

“We now have a number of fleets who have operated electric vans for a reasonable period of time and crucially, through the recent winter. The differences in range that are being reported on some models are, we believe, a cause for concern.

“The weather factor is especially proving to be much greater than originally thought with some of our members seeing a drop in range approaching 50% during the coldest winter days on occasions when there was no opportunity to precondition the battery. These are not the relatively minor variations in range that might be reasonably expected.

“However, other issues are emerging, too. Payload was already known to have a negative impact – although its extent has proven to be a surprise to some operators – but the effect of commonly-used fittings such as roof racks and ladder loaders are proving noticeable.

Paul said that the issue made these vehicles sometimes difficult to use in real world conditions, with fleets being unsure on some days in winter whether they could complete the routes on which they were normally used.

“We definitely have members who feel as though they have been misled over the potential range of some electric vans they have bought and have generally lost confidence in them. There is a feeling that the WLTP figures being produced are often almost useless as an indicator of actual range and something much closer to real world figures is required.

“The fact is that electric van range is a much more complex subject than cars. The weights that company cars carry vary but by not by too much in the vast majority of cases, so shifts in the distance that can be covered are much less dramatic. This is not the situation for vans and ideally, we’d be looking for different official tests for warm and cold weather conditions, with different payloads, towing and more.

“How the situation could be improved in the short term is unclear. WLTP is an agreement created under a United Nations initiative, so not easily changed. We are probably looking for the government or a widely recognised official body to hopefully step into the breach. It’s a question of providing data that allows fleet operators to make an informed choice.”

Paul said the AFP remained strong advocates of electric vans but there were a number of difficult issues that members were experiencing as they underwent the process of adoption.

“It’s clear that the electrification of the van parc is turning out to be much more demanding than has so far been the case for cars, with range, charging and payload very much proving stumbling blocks for many. However, our members are working through these problems by sharing information, advice and best practice.”

Electric vehicle (EV) charging is replacing maintenance as the most onerous day-to-day managerial task facing many fleet managers, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

Chair Paul Hollick explained that in terms of working to maximise operational efficiency and minimise costs, feedback from members showed that charging was taking up huge amounts of time.

“In the last few years, maintenance has been the main everyday issue facing fleet managers. The fleet car and van parcs have been ageing at a fairly rapid pace while workshop capacity has been stretched and parts availability has been patchy.

“However, we now seem to be in a position where charging is taking over and there’s a wide variety of reasons for this. It’s not an exaggeration to say that charging is becoming the new maintenance in terms of the huge amount of attention it demands.”

The issues being encountered are wide ranging, he explained, and often there are no easy answers, with temporary solutions being employed.

“The biggest problems are seen by businesses operating EVs where drivers have no home or depot charging. This means they are relying on the public infrastructure which, in its current state, presents a whole series of difficulties that fleet managers and their drivers are working to resolve every day.

“The first of these is simply accessibility. That means finding chargers where they are needed, hopefully not having to queue and also ensuring that the bays are large enough to take electric vans. Ticking these three boxes on a day-to-day basis is proving demanding for many of our members at this point in time.

“Of course, there is also a desire to minimise the cost of charging which, especially on motorways, can be prohibitive, but that is the fourth factor on the list for most fleets. The important thing is to keep EVs moving.

“There is a strong argument that the difficulties being encountered are very much a product of this moment in time, where the charging infrastructure is not yet up to the demands being placed on it. However, that situation is likely to persist for several years to come and we don’t necessarily see life getting much easier for fleets and their drivers in the medium term.”

Paul added that where EV users had their own charging, life for fleet managers tended to be easier but even that brought its own issues.

“There are other problems. For example, reimbursement is proving an issue, especially with the Advisory Electric Rate remaining too low for the majority of EVs and the actual cost alternative being quite difficult to calculate. Technical solutions are emerging for the latter but obviously have not yet been approved by everyone.”

There are easy technical solutions arriving for actual cost reimbursement of home charging and that’s great but where rates being paid, especially with the Advisory Electric Rate remaining too low for the majority of EVs, businesses are having to find their own, fairer solutions.

“There is also the question of who should pay for installation of home chargers although, at the AFP conference, credible figures were quoted showing that the cost can be recouped by employers in a matter of a few months through the savings in charging costs, so that decision should be relatively easy.”

The AFP was actively working to support its members through these difficulties, Paul added, sharing everything from best practice ideas to temporary solutions, and working on an updated version of its postcode charging map, details about which would be unveiled soon.

“Our members are working together closely on charging and it is very much an area that shows the practical value of being part of the AFP.”