Ask any leet operator about the main challenges that they’re facing at the moment and the chances are that going greener would be in the top ive, along with cost control and road risk management. But as individual markets develop different solutions to environmental issues, finding a uniform solution is far from being a reality, as shown by the comments from LeasePlan International consultant Nathalie de Vries in Part 2.

Of course, such variations are as much about the fact that different countries have different taxation models, usage, mobility and vehicle needs as well as different infrastructures. But the upshot of all of this is that the implementation of a pan-European green policy can be rather challenging to say the least.

The way to approach implementing a green leet policy across Europe is to have an overall green leet framework across the EU, or even global, but with national variations to meet local usage and market needs, according to Thibault Alleyn, international account manager at Fleet Logistics.

‘For example, in Austria we see high numbers of all-wheel drive versions on leets for obvious reasons but these are not always the most environmentally friendly of vehicles. Indeed, when selecting an all-wheel drive system the level of CO2 steeply increases with most manufacturers,’ he comments.

‘In the Netherlands, on the other hand, we ind high proportions of petrol cars rather than diesel, due to fuel prices and different residual value setting. Switzerland tends to have high numbers of executive cars, with a lot more automatic gearboxes which historically also increase CO2 levels. So implementing any green policy needs to accommodate local variations,’ states Mr Alleyn.

To help implement a green leet policy and to encourage drivers to select the least polluting vehicles, Fleet Logistics has also identi ied a trend amongst certain leet owners to introduce inancial “rewards” for drivers to ensure they select the right vehicles.

‘We are now starting to see inancial incentives of up to €100 a month as an encouragement to drivers to choose low carbon emitting vehicles and to reward ecodriving based on actual fuel consumption, in order to help keep costs and emissions down,’ says Mr Alleyn.

EV interest high but uptake low

Fleet Logistics has also said that it’s currently experiencing increased requests from clients for information regarding new developments such as hybrids or electric vehicles, telematics solutions, and mobility concepts.

'The use of EVs tends to be at clients which have large or multiple sites where EVs can be used to travel within the industrial sites or between ofices in urban areas,’ says Mr Alleyn. ‘Other clients are curiously looking at range extended vehicles, like the Opel Ampera, for longer business journeys.

‘We are also seeing more clients willing to open up their choice lists and move away from single or dual-badge fleet policies to allow hybrids and EVs from manufacturers that have strong reputations in these areas, such as Toyota, Renault and Opel,’ he comments.

Christophe Duprat, director of strategy at ALD International, also says that alternative fuelled vehicles are gaining visibility amongst leasing irms but reinforces that we are still at the very early stage of powertrain diversification and that electric vehicle fleets did not reach the expected demand last year.

According to Mr Duprat, the continuous but slow start can be explained by two main reasons. Firstly that the alternatively fuelled vehicle offering is not yet mature and also that leets are looking to test a broader and more consistent range of EV vehicles before making their decision.

Mr Duprat adds that once car manufacturers’ product offers are able to fulil the identiied “alternative powertrain compliant” ecosystems, and once major car manufacturers’ offers are available for delivery, we will see a stronger interest in EVs from fleet operators.

‘In addition, when major tender results are announced, leet owners will analyse again their leet in the spectrum of alternative powertrain mobility,’ he says. ‘The decision criteria will remain the same as before: TCO driven. Alternative powertrain vehicles’

TCO will have to reach their equivalent conventional engine vehicles’ TCO. And this can only be achieved today under usage condition and favourable incentive scheme from regulators.’

One aspect that may help with this is a more uniform approach to the incentive schemes used in different countries.

However, Mr Duprat concludes that the growing variations in powertrain technology will mean that vehicles will more and more be allocated to usages rather that to people. He adds: ‘Such a shift will require a pooling ability that is not widely present at fleet user level. It will be the role of leasing companies to provide the tools ensuring the right usage of each vehicle and thus the right usage of each powertrain technology.’