Looking to 2020

With another year coming to a close, many businesses will already be looking to what 2020 may hold for them and beyond. The forthcoming election is a huge topic of conversation and as part of this, the subject of climate change has been brought in, high up on the agenda.

Net Zero Emission Strategies

Countries were asked to present concrete and realistic plans at the Climate Change Summit held in September. Emissions continue to increase and the global temperature continues to rise. 75 countries committed to deliver 2050 net zero emissions strategies by 2020. This is already having an impact on our industry but the question still remains, are we prepared?

Ultra Low Emission Zones

London already has an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), if a vehicle does not meet these emission standards then a daily charge applies. The area where this is enforced is also about to expand. Bristol is planning to ban all diesel cars from it’s city centre and Heathrow may, in the future, look to match the ULEZ criteria and charge vehicles to enter the airport car parks and drop off areas.

Green Number Plates

The Government have introduced proposals for green number plates for ultra low emission vehicles, according to their website the purpose of the green number plate is to:

provide a UK-wide mechanism enabling people to spot and differentiate vehicles based on their environmental impact
help inform road-users and normalise the idea of clean vehicles on our roads, encouraging a shift to cleaner vehicles
help local authorities to identify ULEVs and bring in local incentives for electric vehicles

The consultation period for this closes in January 2020, so things really are moving at a pace. So, ready or not, it is time to think ahead…

Electric Executive Car Alternatives

In our Environmental Policy we pledged to introduce an electric vehicle alternative to our fleet, which currently consist mainly of Mercedes E and S Class level cars, by 2020. We are ahead of schedule on this and have already been offering a Tesla during 2019, which has been very well received by those requiring a greener method of transportation.

Looking ahead we understand that more of our clients will become environmentally conscious and that using diesel cars may not be acceptable in the longer term. As the movement to electric cars gathers momentum we are actively encouraging our drivers to chose an electric alternative, so they can proudly display their green number plate when this comes into force.

The electric alternative executive car may seem the right way to go but there are still issues around the practicalities, such as:

Lack of electric executive car choice

As a company who provides executive car services, mainly to corporate clients, our vehicles are expected to provide a certain level of refinement, regardless of the engine type. Our preferred choice of vehicle is currently Mercedes, finding an electric alternative to this, with similar refinement and comfort, is proving rather difficult and the choice is very limited, at the moment.

Long distance restrictions

Electric vehicles are fine for shorter distances but our drivers often have to complete long journeys, many electric vehicles to not have the charging capacity to travel more extensive distances. Ensuring the car is charged sufficiently could cause logistical problems.

Cost

The electric offerings are more expensive to buy. This in turn could result in an increase in fare prices.

Lack of infrastructure

And finally, one of the main issues is the lack of charging points. Until we have an infrastructure that can cope, charging vast numbers of electric cars and being able to keep our drivers on the road, could cause huge issues.

It isn’t that we are against going green, quite the opposite in fact. The Summit in September was quite an eye opener and every business needs to be looking at ways to reduce their impact on the environment. The issue isn’t simply about the why, it is more about the when and the how.

If your company is looking to make the change to electric alternative executive travel, please talk to us, we would be happy to discuss the options currently available to you.