CV contract hire company Vertellus has made available a free electric transition toolkit for operators to help them assess where the vehicles could make commercial and operational sense.
The toolkit brings together route planning, energy cost comparisons, charging guidance and information on available government funding and draws on real-world experience and data from the Renault Trucks network.
Vertellus said it provided hauliers with a practical starting point for evaluating electric vehicles before committing to longer-term fleet investment.
The toolkit includes a diesel-versus-electric calculator that allows operators to compare indicative fuel-saving costs using their own mileage, fuel consumption and electricity prices.
According to Vertellus, illustrative comparisons based on dry-box vehicles suggest potential annual fuel cost savings of approximately £5,400 for a van covering 48,280 km, £8,100 for a rigid truck covering 30,000 km and £27,000 for a tractor unit covering 100,000 km.²
The comparisons exclude vehicle acquisition, charging infrastructure and additional refrigeration energy requirements.
Rhian Burrell, MD at Vertellus, said: “Every pound matters when you’re running a commercial vehicle fleet, and with diesel prices fluctuating, operators need to know exactly what their vehicles are costing them. At the same time, they’re being asked to make progress on emissions without putting operational performance at risk.
“Electric vehicles can offer significant savings on fuel costs, but operators need to understand where the numbers stack up. A vehicle might work well on one route but be less suitable on another. Mileage, payload, charging and the demands of the operation all need to be considered.
“We’ve developed the toolkit to help businesses work through those questions using their own operating information, so they can see where electric might make sense and where they need to investigate further.”
