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What is a vehicle fleet ?
A car fleet is a set of vehicles that a company's employer makes available to its employees, for the smooth running of the company. These vehicles include service cars, company carsbut alsoutilities and sometimes two-wheelers.
Whether these vehicles are purchased or leasing Whether on a short or long term basis, a car fleet needs good fleet management.
What does the LOM law say?
Before going into a little more detail about the transition procedure, let's take a look at what the Mobility Orientation Act (LOM), compared with electric vehicle fleets.
Companies that already have a fleet of vehiclesMany of them are wondering how they are going to go about electrifying their vehicles, given that the LOM law recently came into force. This may be the case for you at the moment.
Also worth reading - The LOM law deciphered and analysed: what are the impacts of the LOM law? What are the changes? How can we prepare better?
Who is affected by the LOM law?
From 1 January 2022, this LOM Act is encouraging businesses with more than 100 vehicles of 3.5 tonnes or less to electrify 10 % of the vehicles in their fleet, emitting less than 50g of CO2. This transition will take place gradually, every 3 years:
- From January 2022: 10 % vehicles
- From January 2024: 20 % vehicles
- From January 2027: 35 % vehicles
- From January 2030: 50 % vehicles
In terms of vehicle type, this law applies to certain commercial vehicles and also to light vehicles.
On the other hand, if you have ultra-light vehicles in your fleet, with a GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of over 2.6 tonnes, the LOM law has been applicable since 1ᵉʳ January 2023.
Step 1: Audit your vehicle fleet
The audit of a fleet of vehicles is fundamental. This stage is crucial, because all the actions that will be taken and the decisions taken afterwards depend on this audit.
Why audit your vehicle fleet?
Before you can make the transition to electric vehicles, it's essential to carry out an audit of your infrastructure. This will enable you to take stock of the current situation of your fleet of vehicles and give you an overall picture so that you can make the right decisions:
- Your needs
- The feasibility of this project
- Costs and potential savings
- Adapt the installation and type of terminal to your fleet's infrastructure
This analysis will tell you where you can make improvements to optimise your vehicle fleet. What's more, you'll know the aids and subsidies that you could receive and make huge savings in the process.
How do you audit your electric vehicle fleet?
First of all, you need to analyse the current situation to determine your future needs. To do this, collect all the data concerning your electric vehicle fleet:
- Fleet management is your fleet management policy
- Vehicle fuel consumption
- Daily distances travelled
- CO2 emissions
- The traffic zone
- Stopping times for vehicles
- Costs
- Fuel
- Insurance
The data collected is then analysed to take stock of your vehicle fleet.
Once you have done this, depending on your needs, you will :
- Draw up an action plan, to know what actions will be taken during and after the electricity transition
- Setting economic and environmental targets
To carry out this audit, you can benefit from Beev's expertise.
Step 2: Understanding the benefits of electric vehicles
These days, we are seeing more and more benefits from acquiring electric vehicles: comfort, financial advantages, etc. Apart from the overall benefits of an electric vehicle, what are the specific advantages for a company of electrifying its fleet? fleet of vehicles ?
It is true that this transition from thermal vehicle Switching to electric vehicles requires careful preparation to ensure that all the measures involved can be financed. Apart from this investment, opting for a fleet of electric vehicles has a number of advantages for a company, in terms of :
- Vehicle recharging: recharging an electric car costs around 4 times less than the cost of fuel for a diesel or petrol vehicle.
- Inexpensive electric vehicle maintenance: because electric vehicles have few gearbox, clutch or air filter problems, maintenance costs are very low.
- Comfort: while driving, there is little or no noise, so the driver feels at ease and less stressed. This comfort is even more evident on commercial vehicles. All the more fun to drive.
- Grants and subsidies available to companies
- Commitment to the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility): opting for the electrification of its vehicle fleet is also one of the actions that a company can take.
- Tax benefits Electric vehicles: the government has introduced a range of grants and benefits to help businesses finance the purchase of electric vehicles and the installation of recharging sockets at lower cost.
Stage 3: Electric vehicle fleet: take advantage of government grants and subsidies
To encourage companies to switch to electric vehicle fleets, the government is giving them a number of incentives. Companies will be able to make this electric fleet transformation in complete safety.
Companies can therefore benefit from :
- The exemption fromthe tax on the use of passenger vehicles for economic purposesThis tax is levied on companies that hire or use passenger cars. These vehicles depend on their CO2 emissions in g/km.
- ADVENIR aid The aim of this scheme is to finance the installation of charging points. Depending on their project, a number of beneficiaries can obtain a grant for :
- HGV fleets A rate of aid of 50 % and an amount before tax per recharging point set at between €2,200 and €960,000 (depending on the recharging power chosen),
- Short-term vehicle hire companies A rate of aid of 20 % and an amount excluding VAT per recharging point set at €600 excluding VAT,
- Automotive service professionals A rate of aid of 25 % and a ceiling per recharging point of €750 excluding VAT.
- Fromenvironmental bonus The eco-bonus: everyone can benefit from the eco-bonus, professionals and private individuals alike. The amount of the bonus varies according to your profile. To qualify for the eco-bonus, the vehicle purchased must cost less than €47,000 and a mass less than 2.4 tonnes (with the exception of vehicles in categories N2 and M2, which benefit from an exemption of up to 3.5 tonnes). Here is the scale:
- For new electric cars : a bonus of 27 % of the purchase cost including VAT (increased if the battery of the vehicle is leased) and a up to €3,000 for professionals,
- For new electric vans : a bonus of 40 % of the purchase price including VAT (increased if the vehicle's battery is leased), with a ceiling of €4,000 for professionals,
- For used electric or hydrogen cars (or both) The bonus is set at €1,000 for both private and business customers.
- La conversion premium Since April 2020, the government has been offering this allowance in exchange for scrapping fossil vehicles. Bonus amounts vary according to the reference tax income per unit.
For further information: conversion premium - new rules from 2023, - Tax deduction on depreciation :In fact, your company can benefit from an additional depreciation of 40 % on the value of the electric vehicle you purchase.
IMPORTANT: with regard to the ADVENIR programme, the premiums for charging points open to the general public in private car parks and for intermediate target groups (hotels, restaurants and shops), ended in July 2023. Don't hesitate to contact us to apply for your premium before the deadline.
Stage 4: Support towards a fleet of electric vehicles
In addition to support for the installation of charging stationsYou can be accompanied throughout the process.
To help every company install charging stations efficiently, Beev experts can help you adapt these accessories to your needs and your fleet's infrastructure.
Company charging points: what are the obligations?
To encourage companies to make their vehicle fleets less polluting, since March 2021 the government has introduced a number of measures in relation to charging stations in companies. This is the Energy Transition Act:
- Pre-equipping parking spaces: this involves installing charging points in the company car park.
- Charging station equipment: if your company is in a new building, the decree no. 2016-968 of 13 July 2016 and thearticle R.136-1 of the Construction and Housing CodeYou are obliged to install recharging points.
If your car park has a capacity of less than 40 spaces, 10 % of the parking spaces will have to be equipped with charging points for electric vehicles. On the other hand, if you have more than 40 spaces, 20 % will have to be equipped with a charging point.
As well as being an obligation, there are a number of advantages to installing charging points on your premises:
- There's no longer any need to go outside the company to look for a recharging point. Electric vehicle recharging is now within easy reach.
- Helping your partners adapt their green solutions
Get a car policy with Beev!
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Step 5: Calculate the cost of electrifying your fleet and estimate the TCO
When you draw up the budget for this electric transition, the expenditure you will be making is not limited to the purchase of electric vehicles. That's only part of the budget, so you'll need to take other factors into account to get a clear idea of your financing capacity for this project: you'll do what's known as the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)Total Cost of Ownership.
For a better understanding of how to calculate it, here's how the sum of the TCO is broken down in general terms:
- Electric vehicles: purchase or hire, fuel, maintenance, insurance, driver behaviour, etc.
- Charging stations
- Recharging
It's true that this project requires a fairly substantial investment, but there's no doubt that over the long term, your fleet of electric vehicles will cost less.
Electric vehicle fleet: successfully electrify your fleet with Beev
In fact, as we saw earlier, the LOM requires companies to renew their fleets every 3 years, so that by the end of the transition period your fleet will be 100 % electrified.
So make sure you take a long-term view of the project. In the course of renewals, there are bound to be areas for improvement in terms of fleet management, infrastructure and finance.
It's also important to mention that your employees are also involved in the electrification of your fleet. This will increase their satisfaction with the use of these new vehicles and recharging stations, but also because they will be using them on a regular basis. So it makes sense to take their needs and expectations into account.
This is not necessarily an easy project, with all the different stages to be followed, actions to be taken, cost management, etc. But with Beev's expertise, it's always possible to successfully electrify your fleet. If you wish, you can ask our experts for help right now.
Fleet management
When you make the transition to an electric vehicle fleet, the management of your fleet is totally different, with the development of a new infrastructure configuration or the installation of charging points. This project calls for efficient, operational management of the vehicle fleet: what we call fleet management.
Depending on the company, fleet management can be carried out either internally or externally.
The fleet manager, the person in charge of the fleet of automated vehicles, will ensure that the fleet is managed in the best possible conditions. They play a number of different roles, including
- Intermediary between the company and players in the automotive sector: car rental companies LLDinsurers
- Decision-making: the fleet manager will also have to make decisions about the number of vehicles to have, based on the needs of the company and its employees.
- Advice: the fleet manager can also advise the company, for example, on the model of car to have, the choice of theinsurance.
- Reseller: fleet managers may also resell vehicles that are not in use.
- Informative: the fleet manager will also have an informative role to play in raising awareness, training and educating all employees about eco-responsible driving.
There are a number of advantages to having a fleet manager as part of your project:
- Save time: delegate the management of your fleet, so you can concentrate on other projects.
- All employees will be able to obtain reliable and concrete information from the fleet manager.
Conclusion
Transforming your fleet of vehicles into a fleet of electric vehicles will benefit your company through a number of subsidies and will also help to reduce CO2 emissions in the long term.
With all the steps and advice we've just mentioned, you'll be able to carry out this project in the best possible conditions. If you would like more information about this electrical transition, don't hesitate to get in touch with our Beev experts.
