CASE STUDY: EDF powers towards an EV fleet working with Arval

EDF is Britain’s biggest generator of zero-carbon electricity, generating zero-carbon electricity from wind, nuclear and solar, and supplies energy to around 3 million residential customers.

With 800 light commercial vehicles and 400 cars, EDF has been working with Arval for the last four years, at which time it switched its car fleet from an outright purchase model to a choice list based on monthly lease rates.

The Challenge

EDF is very much aware of its environmental responsibilities and signed up to the EV100 initiative in 2017, which has seen more than 100 of the world’s leading businesses make a commitment to transition their fleets to EVs and install charging facilities for staff and customers by 2030.

The Solution

Following the EV100 decision, Arval and EDF began updating the company’s car policy to incorporate electric vehicles (EV) and petrol hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) into their driver choice lists. EV100 qualifying criteria were adopted, including an electric-only range of at least 30 miles for PHEVs and emissions of under 50g/km CO2 for each car.

The previous lease rate model of constructing the choice list was abandoned, as it often makes EVs and PHEVs look expensive in comparison to the petrol and diesel models, and replaced with a new whole life cost approach.

A new ultra-low emissions vehicle (ULEV) choice list was introduced in Q2 2020 followed quickly a new 'EV First' campaign in Q3 2021, designed to encourage employees to seriously consider an EV at the first replacement opportunity.

“EV First is designed to highlight the advantages of choosing an EV over a PHEV, from both a driver benefit-in-kind (BIK) taxation and environmental point of view. We have produced a range of material for drivers, making the benefits as clear as possible, including information about improved EV ranges and the growth of the charging network, including workplace EV charging facilities at EDF locations.”

Results

“Reaction from drivers to EV and PHEV choices has been very good. They are enthusiastic about the vehicles and certainly appreciate the savings that are possible from reducing their BIK, which for some drivers equates to thousands of pounds every year.

“We’ve had some drivers come to us and ask if they can swap into an EV early, and have also introduced a trade-up arrangement, whereby drivers can pay up to £120 per month to get into the vehicle they want.”

“One of the enhancements we were able to make with the new choice list was to extend the choice of vehicles available, with a wider number of manufacturers and models. If it meets our cost and environmental benchmarks, then we’ll try and add it to the list!”

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