Most small business fleets going electric – survey

Two thirds (66%) of small businesses predict their fleets will be fully electric within the next 20 years.

That’s according to a survey commissioned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business –part of automotive partnership the Alliance.

And the survey reveals about 50% expect the switch to happen in half that time.

The survey of 3257 small business owners and decision makers globally found that almost all (93%) of business owners or decision-makers responsible for 50 vehicles or more consider environmental sustainability of high importance.

Connectivity will be key to success from a logistics perspective, according to a fifth of the business leaders surveyed. Other business owners believe automation will play the biggest role in their future success (14%).

And 55% see their fleets becoming fully autonomous within the next 20 years, with 38% saying this is likely to happen within 10 years.

This development comes at a time when automakers are dramatically increasing their efforts to respond to a growing customer need for sustainable vehicles, as businesses prepare for tighter emissions regulations and seek ways to address climate change, Nissan says.

About 35% of respondents say business efficiency is their main motivation for adopting new technologies, while 21% say cost saving drives their decisions, and 14% highlight their desire to be more sustainable.

“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,” Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business senior vice-president Ashwani Gupta.

Almost a fifth (18%) of small business leaders say the sheer pace of the fast-moving world of e-commerce and the rising demand for deliveries is the biggest business challenge they face logistically, closely followed by the ability to keep up with regulation changes (17%).

Small businesses surveyed also highlight changing customer expectations for delivery times (12%) and urban traffic and congestion (11%) as key concerns.

While 40% of small businesses feel well set up for the increasing demands of e-commerce, the survey shows almost a third (30%) believe their business is not ready for these demands as they need smarter technology.

The trend towards electrification is reflected in Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business’ latest sales results, as Renault’s European leadership of EV vans (46.2% market share) contributed to a 13.5% year-on-year growth of light commercial vehicles.

The LCV business’ combined sales, which includes trucks, vans and frame-based SUVs, reached almost two million units, the highest sales totals in the organisation’s history.

Groupe Renault has announced 100% of its vans will be electrified by 2022.

The Nissan e-NV200 small all-electric van production in 2018 was up by 50% compared to the previous year to reach 6000 units.

Mitsubishi offers the Minicab MiEV van in Japan as well as commercial versions of the Outlander PHEV in some global markets.

By 2022, the Alliance will launch 12 new zero-emission EVs, while 40 vehicles will be introduced with different levels of autonomy.