Twelve-volt battery technology needs to improve, says the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), as “bricking” issues continue to affect adoption of electric vans.
Paul Hollick. Image: AFP
Paul Hollick, APF chair, said that despite widespread publicity, many fleets were still being left in a position where their vans become unusable and had to be tailored to a dealership to be restarted.
He explained: “The fundamental problem here is that when an electric van is left unused for a couple of weeks, the 12v battery charges down and it becomes impossible to start or recharge the vehicle. There is no choice but to return it to the franchise dealer and even then, it can often take weeks to resolve the problem.
“We’re even hearing from members who are having electric vans delivered in this state and having to reject them immediately, which is completely unacceptable. It’s unavoidably having an impact on the appetite of some fleets to electrify their vans.
“The handful of manufacturers involved – and this affects several models – have been quite different in their responses with some being faster to work towards a solution than others.
“Our members generally accept that in adopting electric vans, they are close to the cutting edge of using new technology and some teething issues will occur. However, there is a general feeling that the 12-volt battery technology being used lags some distance behind the advances that have made in electric vehicle batteries that have been made in recent years, and a large perceived difference between the extremes of how much work these manufacturers appear to be putting into resolving the issue.”
Paul said the immediate solution that appeared to be most commonly suggested by manufacturers was revised software that would preserve the 12-volt battery for longer.
“Some manufacturers are telling us that the new software is in progress and could be here in a matter of weeks or months, while others are much vaguer. The latter aren’t winning many friends among fleet operators.
“Also, it’s worth underlining that even where a fix is available, we are being told that the bricking problem is still likely to occur, it will just take longer to happen, which again underlines the weakness of the underlying technology. However, even if it could be extended to 3-4 weeks to take users over holiday periods, that would be a definite advantage and improvement in practicality.”
He added that fleets were having to improvise solutions, with some investing in solar panels to trickle charge the 12-volt battery, but this solution also had limitations.
“We know of one AFP member that is looking at spending £1 million on solar panels, which provides some idea of the scope of the problem. This provides a fix but again, even though it potentially substantially lengthens the time taken, the van could still eventually brick. It’s looking more and more likely that this won’t be completely resolved until the next generation of electric vans. Manufacturers need to step up.”
Startline Motor Finance published research stating that 97% of dealers say more support is needed for electric vehicle funding. Finance companies are charging higher interest rates and demanding larger deposits for electric vehicles due to higher perceived lending risk and deteriorating used values. Issues such as the bricking problem described above will only add to further deterioration of funders appetite for BEV funding.
Leasing and contract hire companies are also taking a more cautious view on future residual value forecasting which means higher contract hire rentals.
Add to this the ongoing confusion over deregulation of 4.25 tonne electric vans, which are the equivalent to an ICE 3.5 tonne vehicle with the weight of the battery added, so that a driver with a standard B licence can drive them. OZEV (Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) believes vehicles have been deregulated whereas the DVSA and DfT believe some regulations still apply.
Ian Hare, Managing Director of Motor Management, said: “My view is that the Government needs to place equal emphasis on development of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles alongside Battery Electric Vehicles. Subsidies and tax incentives should be introduced to enhance the adoption of hydrogen vehicles. Government also needs to reconsider the ZEV mandate for vans which is becoming increasingly unrealistic.”
