The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, new manufacturer entrants, controlling insurance costs and skills shortages are the key issues facing fleets this year, according to the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) at its annual conference.
Paul Hollick, chair of the AFP, told the 230 delegates that these were the core matters occupying fleet managers and the subject of most of the debate within the organisation.
“The ZEV mandate is already affecting which vehicles fleets are buying, with many being told that they need to take a certain percentage of electric vehicles as part of any order. This has an obvious impact on the cars and vans that fleets are choosing to operate.”
The AFP also said that new manufacturers were already beginning to make their presence felt and starting to make their way onto choice lists – as highlighted by Arval earlier this week.
Hollick picked up: “While there are questions that are being asked about the risk of taking on their cars and vans, there are also advantages in terms of factors such as price and availability. Fleet managers need to balance the pros and cons.”
Delegates at the conference were also warned that insurance premiums for some fleets have gone up substantially and much effort is going into attempting to bring them under control.
The industry association has already advised fleets that robust risk management is key to controlling EV insurance premiums – and said this applied to all vehicles.
And it’s now warned operators that improvements in risk performance often require investment, “but tend to bring premiums down in the medium term rather than straightaway”.
Finally, the fleet industry body cautioned that the sector is about to lose a lot of expertise as a generation of managers look to retire during the next few years.
“That means we are concentrating heavily in areas such as training and mentoring to ensure that as much of their knowledge as possible remains accessible.”
The association, founded in 2020, continues to grow and has seen membership increase by 15.4% in the last year to now span more than 1,500 individuals and businesses. This follows efforts to roll out improved technology to enable members to share issues and expertise, a new website that offered enhanced services, the creation of white papers in areas such as EV service, maintenance and repair, and the launch of the AFP Expo.
“The fleet sector is undergoing a period of rapid change and the AFP has become established not just as the voice of the industry but also as the single most important resource for fleet managers when it comes to accessing best practice, training and other valuable resources. Much has been achieved in the four years since the organisation was created,” Hollick stated.
The annual conference – the AFP’s third since its launch in 2020 – was held at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, and was sponsored by Enterprise Mobility. The day was built around four panel sessions entitled ‘New manufacturer entrants for 2024-2026’, ‘Decarbonisation is not just EVs, ‘There’s never been a better time to manage your road risk’, and ‘EV charger deployment – everything you need to know but don’t’.
There was additionally a keynote speech from Abdul Chowdhury of the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles plus presentations on EV Deployment in Action from Stuart Murphy of Royal Mail and the Zero Emissions Van Plan from Catherine Bowen from the BVRLA.
Delegates also took part in an AFP Fleet Academy in Action training session on ‘Engaging Drivers with Road Risk’, and there was an awards ceremony for those who have achieved AFP Fleet Academy qualifications. Finally, representatives from headline sponsors Enterprise comprised a panel called ‘In the spotlight’, including Andy Bland, Keith Neville, Oz Choudhri and Kate Cooper-Griffiths.
