Two thirds of small businesses van fleets to be fully electric by 2040

Two thirds of small businesses have predicted that their van fleets will be fully electric by 2040, with half of them expecting this to happen in half this time. Vansdirect reveals all!

Fully electric van fleets

According to new research by the alliance of Renault Vans, Nissan vans and Mitsubishi vans, 66% of small businesses have predicted that their van fleets will be fully electric within the next 20 years, with half of these expecting it'll take half that time. The alliance conducted a survey in order to gain insights and understandings into thousands of small business owners and decision makers on a global scale.

The survey revealed that a staggering 93% of business owners or decision makers responsible for van fleets of 50 vehicles or more, consider environmental sustainability of high importance. With the research also showing that the higher the turnover the company and the bigger the fleet, the more important sustainability is to them.

Electric van sales

The move towards electrification can be seen in the combination of Renault vans, Nissan vans and Mitsubishi vans latest sales figures. Renault vans lead the way in the European electric vans market with a staggering 46.2% market share which contributed to their 13.5% year on year growth of new van sales. The business' combined sales reached nearly two million units, the highest total in the business' history.

Renault vans, whose electric van line-up currently consists of the Renault Kangoo ZE, Renault Master ZE and Renault Twizy Cargo have announced that 100% of their vans will be electrified by 2022.

The Nissan e-NV200 small electric van from Nissan vans is seeing a significant upsurge in demand with production up by 50% in 2018 compared with 2017, reaching 6,000 units. Mitsubishi vans offer the MINICAB MiEV van in Japanese markets, as well as commercial versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in some global markets such as the UK.

Environmental sustainability

Senior vice president of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi vans business Ashwani Gupta spoke of the importance of environmentally sustainability for businesses, commenting:

"These results show that the electrification of fleets is increasingly on the minds of our customers - not just for the financial efficiencies that EVs can deliver, but because environmental sustainability is clearly crucial to the future of their businesses. I'm impressed at how optimistic these fleet managers are about the speed in which their vehicles will be fully electrified.

Renault is the global leader in making vans. Nissan makes great trucks and Mitsubishi are at the top when it comes to the production of frame vehicles. Combined, we are a truly global powerhouse, and working together on connectivity, powertrain developments and autonomous technologies will allow us to meet the rising demands of our customers and their businesses."

Autonomy

The survey didn't finish with electrification questions, it also revealed that 55% of businesses questioned see their fleets becoming fully autonomous within the next 20 years, with 38% saying that it is likely to happen in as little as 10 years. According to 20% of those questioned, connectivity will be most key to success from a logistics perspective, whilst 14% believe automation will pay the primary role in future success.

In terms of businesses being willing to adopt new technologies, 35% said business efficiencies are the primary reason for investing in new technology with their fleet, 21% said cost saving is the driver behind their decisions, whilst 14% highlighted their desire to be more sustainable.

Electric vans on finance

Looking for a new electric van? Vansdirect are here to help! We off all makes and models of electric vans and cheap van finance options including van leasing, contract hire and hire purchase. Interested? Simply fill in a contact form or call us on 0800 169 69 95 to get the ball rolling today, we also offer cars!