EO Charging has cautioned that lack of understanding around new charging regulations could hamper the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) by British fleet managers.
The rules on the sale of smart EV chargers, which is coming into effect on 30 June 2022, require all new EV chargepoints to have a data connection with the feature to measure, record and transmit usage.
EO Charging, which provides charging solutions for EV fleets, said that about 46% of 500 UK fleet managers it interviewed were either confused or unaware of the upcoming rules.
More than a quarter (26%) were of the view that the installation of smart chargers may raise the running costs for their fleet.
Nearly 74% of the surveyed fleet managers opined that that recent changes to laws and regulations have ‘complicated or delayed their adoption of EV vehicles’.
EO Charging CEO and founder Charlie Jardine said: “Bringing in new market policy or legislation isn’t easy; it takes time for an industry to adapt. But these businesses don’t have time – they’ve got a hard deadline to transition to electric and need to feel confident in the economic and environmental case for doing so. It’s vital that government and industry providers, like EO, do what we can to ensure confusion over these law changes does not slow down the pace of fleet electrification.
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By GlobalData“The benefits of smart charging are significant – from increased vehicle uptime, savings on long-term energy costs, to a lower TCO – that’s the message businesses need to hear. The fact that a quarter think this move will increase costs, is a real concern.
Concurrently, EO Charging rolled two new products compliant with the new regulations.
The new offerings, EO Genius 2 and EO Mini Pro 3, will offer smart functionality to facilitate the default off peak charging hours as mandated by the new laws.
The new products, according to the company, are designed and manufactured in the UK.
The company claims that in ‘contrast to fleet managers’ assumptions of higher costs’, the average fleet transitioning to smart chargers can result in nearly a ‘60% saving in long-term energy costs’. EO Charging head of research & development Richard Earl said: “Despite this head start, like many we have faced challenges in getting products to market in time with ongoing global supply chain challenges. Despite this, we’ve managed to deliver smart charging solutions that are capable of flexing to future regulatory changes, and so will continue to support our clients in unlocking the business benefits of EVs long into the future.”