Good for business and driver health: EVs set to revolutionise last-mile delivery

One of the many fascinating discussions during last weekend’s Everything Electric show in Sydney was the session Future of deliveries, from freight to the final Mile where panelists discussed the huge financial benefits for businesses switching their fleets to EVs as well as health benefits drivers.

“A lot of businesses and fleets look at buying vehicles differently. It’s not just about the purchase price, it’s about the total cost of ownership or the whole of life cost,” said Marc Sibbald, editor of Fleet EV News.

“When you understand your business and you understand what vehicles are doing, and last mile fleet is a great example.

“You know that you’re going to travel 150 kilometres [a day] so therefore you pick the right vehicle or plan to buy the right vehicle that suits that need. You generally know how much weight you’re going to carry day in day out as well.

“A lot of the early adopters have done the numbers and realise that it’s actually cheaper for them to run an electric vehicle than it is a petrol.”

Sibbald points out that businesses also have the advantage of being able to gradually stage their transitions over time, reducing risk and learning as they go.

“No fleet goes and buys 100 cars in any one day, they replace them over time. So they might buy 10 this year and 10 next year and 10 the year after, and before they know they’ve got a very low emission fleet.

“They can scale their charging as they go and they can learn about power management, they can learn about substations, network development. You have so much data as a fleet, if you manage your fleet and you understand your fleet you can really plan it properly.”

Tax benefits in addition to financial benefits

Sibbald also discussed the tax benefits on offer for Australian businesses with the government’s Electric Car Discount Bill which was legislated in November 2022.

“It provides an exemption on fringe benefits tax, which is what we have in Australia. So if you’re driving a company car, and you’re only using it for to and from work, you have a huge fringe benefits tax bill. With an electric car you don’t have that bill.”

Canberra EV sharing platform evee recently launched an online calculator to determine how much tax you can save using novated leasing thanks to the Electric Car Discount Bill. It shows that a new Tesla Model 3 is comparable to a Toyota Corolla when leased through a business.

Huge health benefits for road transport drivers

One of the major benefits rarely discussed regarding the transition to electric vehicles is the enormous health and mental health benefits to road transport workers.

“I personally have never spent an entire entire day driving a diesel delivery van. But I’ve been assured that if you switch to an electric one, and you’re not vibrating all day or listening to the sound of that engine, it can be quite life changing,” said panel host Jack Scarlett.

Kayla Medica from fleet software company Adiona said the feedback they’ve received from drivers has been overwhelmingly positive towards EVs.

“From our customers, they’ve said they’ve had a lot of pushback from drivers who’ve said ‘I don’t want to switch to electric’ and they’re like, ok we’ll take you out for a test drive and after one drive the drivers say ‘that’s amazing, I’m in!'”

Sibbald agreed that EVs are a total game changer for professional drivers.

“Road transport workers are now able to get home at the end of the day and actually have a life because they’re not exhausted from the effects of spending time on the road. It is amazing the difference it makes to their lifestyle.”