Company EV charging policies/politics
Discussion
Mrs SA has a company car (with fuel card valid across Europe) which is 100% a perk - she does 0 business miles. The company charge a fixed rate for private use (deducted from salary), and she pays quite a bit of tax for BIK on top. We use the car quite a lot, so it's definitely an advantage compared with paying for the same usage (and quality of car) ourselves.
Her car is coming up for change and the new car will have to be full-electric. It will be one of the first electric cars in the company. She received the list of cars, together with a new "electric car policy". The only point which is causing concern is that they expressly ask to maximise charging at home and to avoid using public chargers as much as possible to save costs.
Charging at home is not a problem (and could actually raise money as she will get paid a standard rate for the electricity and we have solar panels).
I have quite a collection of classic cars which we use for shorter trips and general running around. Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
I'm curious whether there are members who are in a similar situation, and how you deal with it.
She's planning on discussing it with the Financial Director in the coming week. She has the option of taking cash instead of a company car, which is also something we're looking at. We will be buying her current car from the leasing company anyway.
Grateful for all observations/comments/advice.
Her car is coming up for change and the new car will have to be full-electric. It will be one of the first electric cars in the company. She received the list of cars, together with a new "electric car policy". The only point which is causing concern is that they expressly ask to maximise charging at home and to avoid using public chargers as much as possible to save costs.
Charging at home is not a problem (and could actually raise money as she will get paid a standard rate for the electricity and we have solar panels).
I have quite a collection of classic cars which we use for shorter trips and general running around. Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
I'm curious whether there are members who are in a similar situation, and how you deal with it.
She's planning on discussing it with the Financial Director in the coming week. She has the option of taking cash instead of a company car, which is also something we're looking at. We will be buying her current car from the leasing company anyway.
Grateful for all observations/comments/advice.
sunbeam alpine said:
The only point which is causing concern is that they expressly ask to maximise charging at home and to avoid using public chargers as much as possible to save costs.
Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
"Avoid as much as possible" doesn't mean "don't use" to me. That wouldn't even be an issue for me tbh and certainly not one worth raising with the FD. Sounds like you have an issue with electric and you're trying to get around it. Have you been using her fuel card for your other cars?Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
AyBee said:
sunbeam alpine said:
The only point which is causing concern is that they expressly ask to maximise charging at home and to avoid using public chargers as much as possible to save costs.
Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
"Avoid as much as possible" doesn't mean "don't use" to me. That wouldn't even be an issue for me tbh and certainly not one worth raising with the FD. Sounds like you have an issue with electric and you're trying to get around it. Have you been using her fuel card for your other cars?Her company car gets used for long-distance trips, which doesn't really fit well with an electric car if fast chargers are discouraged. Even visiting family and friends won't be possible without at least 2 re-charges.
Worst case scenario if you're going to make money from charging at home unless you're travelling outside of the range regularly I'd just suck it up and pay personally as it sounds like a good perk.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the fuel card gets replaced with claiming for business use per mile using the Inland Revenue Advisory Fuel rates.
And I think presenting an argument to the CFO that you’re worse off because you can’t fuel loads of other vehicles cheaply possibly won’t go down too well.
And I think presenting an argument to the CFO that you’re worse off because you can’t fuel loads of other vehicles cheaply possibly won’t go down too well.
sunbeam alpine said:
Charging at home is not a problem (and could actually raise money as she will get paid a standard rate for the electricity and we have solar panels).
If she gets paid for the electricity then that amount is a BIK and is liable for tax and NI. Even if it was used for business travel.She's best placed to know the company's attitude to such things - I've worked for companies where there were all sorts of rules and guidance to save money but you just did whatever you thought best.
Thanks for the replies - I'll try and answer the points you've raised.
The FD is responsible for defining car policy. Mrs SA is also senior management level in the company and is in contact with the FD most days, certainly several times a week, so it would be a chat between colleagues.
I don't think I have an issue with electric cars - certainly for someone doing a lot of short-distance journeys - it's just that our use is the exact opposite. We use the car almost exclusively for long-distance trips, typically several thousand miles over two or three weeks. I would say that the biggest benefit is that we have a decent quality car which has 100% back-up - breakdown cover and replacement vehicle if necessary - and which we don't have to worry about if it gets gets hit, scratched or even stolen.
My only reservation regarding electric is more linked to the particular conditions applied by the leasing company. One example is that the standard installation puts the charging station within 15m of our electricty meter, and anything more than this will be charged for. We have a 6-car garage about 100 yards from the house and I'd prefer to install the charger there.
It has never occurred to me to use her fuel card in other vehicles. Given that you have to enter the mileage along with the fuel card PIN when you pay at the pump, I think this would be picked up quite quickly. All our private vehicles run on petrol, while her car is a diesel.
There is a Tesla on the list, but that would require a one-off "personal contribution" of about £3500. Alternatives are Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Polestar and Volvo, all of which are available without a personal contribution. It has always been an option to choose a higher spec vehicle and pay the extra as a personal contribution but we've never opted for it. She's most interested in the Volvo - she's had E-class Mercs and Audi A5 and A6's in the past - and she fancies a change.
ETA: I don't use her fuel card for other cars!!!
The FD is responsible for defining car policy. Mrs SA is also senior management level in the company and is in contact with the FD most days, certainly several times a week, so it would be a chat between colleagues.
I don't think I have an issue with electric cars - certainly for someone doing a lot of short-distance journeys - it's just that our use is the exact opposite. We use the car almost exclusively for long-distance trips, typically several thousand miles over two or three weeks. I would say that the biggest benefit is that we have a decent quality car which has 100% back-up - breakdown cover and replacement vehicle if necessary - and which we don't have to worry about if it gets gets hit, scratched or even stolen.
My only reservation regarding electric is more linked to the particular conditions applied by the leasing company. One example is that the standard installation puts the charging station within 15m of our electricty meter, and anything more than this will be charged for. We have a 6-car garage about 100 yards from the house and I'd prefer to install the charger there.
It has never occurred to me to use her fuel card in other vehicles. Given that you have to enter the mileage along with the fuel card PIN when you pay at the pump, I think this would be picked up quite quickly. All our private vehicles run on petrol, while her car is a diesel.
There is a Tesla on the list, but that would require a one-off "personal contribution" of about £3500. Alternatives are Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Polestar and Volvo, all of which are available without a personal contribution. It has always been an option to choose a higher spec vehicle and pay the extra as a personal contribution but we've never opted for it. She's most interested in the Volvo - she's had E-class Mercs and Audi A5 and A6's in the past - and she fancies a change.
ETA: I don't use her fuel card for other cars!!!
Edited by sunbeam alpine on Monday 15th August 11:50
I think it is worth doing some maths on how the car is used and if electric will be a suitable replacement.
Take a look at the journeys most recently completed and how charging will affect that. Having to stop at a services to charge for over an hour while on the works ticket is an inconvenience, not something I would want to do. Would work allow her to claim some food or a coffee while doing so?
A company just bluntly deciding electric only cars strikes me as a company that has no idea how its cars are used or consulting with the people that use them.
Take a look at the journeys most recently completed and how charging will affect that. Having to stop at a services to charge for over an hour while on the works ticket is an inconvenience, not something I would want to do. Would work allow her to claim some food or a coffee while doing so?
A company just bluntly deciding electric only cars strikes me as a company that has no idea how its cars are used or consulting with the people that use them.
AyBee said:
I'm still struggling to see what your issues are?
That's a fair comment - maybe I'm not expressing it very well. AyBee said:
Are you just against electric or is there something else?
I'm definitely not against electric - I very much enjoyed the demo car we had for a weekend 
. As I wrote in my earlier post, the "free" car mostly gets used for long journeys. I fear the charging infrastructure (and rapid expansion of numbers of EV's) may make this more challenging than with an ICE car. Our stops on long journeys tend to be either "splash and dash" on the motorway or diverting off the motorway to somewhere scenic for lunch (where charging may not be available).I've seen many more articles critical of EV's use in this scenario - chargers full/out of action etc.
AyBee said:
Paying for a bit more cable would seem a non-issue and given her position in the company, maybe she could expense it?
I think that the potential hassle of installing a charging station is my biggest concern. Although we have room at the front of the house, we have never used it for parking cars. We have enough parking behind the house where cars aren't visible from the road (not that we live an an area with problems). Using the area at the front would however allow for an installation within 15m of the electricity meter.To do it properly will involve putting cable underground and will cost a lot more than "just a bit of cable". We completely remodelled the house 5 years ago, including a new drive and patio at the back. If we need to run a cable to where the car is normally parked we'd need to dig up the drive or part of the patio.
Installing the charging station inside or outside of the garage at the bottom of the garden would be the optimal solution. When we rewired the house we ran a 10mm² cable underground from the house to the garage so it has a new, heavy-duty power source available and a separate fuse box with room to add extra modules.
She definitely won't be able to claim for the additional costs, but - taking the positive view - it appears that if we have to pay ANY extra we will get a charge point we can keep, whereas the leasing company's small print says that they are permitted to remove a standard installation.
The frustration is that the leasing company use one external supplier for charging installations and they're running about 3 months behind on their surveys, so her work are asking her to order the car before the installer can come and survey/indicate the likely costs involved. I'm not comfortable committing to an installation without knowing what the possible costs could be.
somouk said:
Take a look at the journeys most recently completed and how charging will affect that. Having to stop at a services to charge for over an hour while on the works ticket is an inconvenience, not something I would want to do. Would work allow her to claim some food or a coffee while doing so?
It gets pretty much zero business use, so this won't apply. 
somouk said:
A company just bluntly deciding electric only cars strikes me as a company that has no idea how its cars are used or consulting with the people that use them.
We're in Belgium - it's quite small so one of the easier candidates for electric car users. Our particular challenge is that while we both live and work in Belgium, we're not Belgian, so family visits are much longer distance than her colleagues. The company policy is a reaction to changes in tax legislation reducing the percentage of vehicle costs companies can deduct/include in their accounts. Both ICE and hybrids have been significantly reduced. Electric cars are unaffected.
The Brussels office has about 180 personnel (most of whom qualify for a company car) and 2 charging points in the car park!
Edited by sunbeam alpine on Monday 15th August 14:10
Zetec-S said:
The "avoid using public chargers as much as possible" policy sounds like they're just trying to stop people plugging in their EV every time they pop into Tesco, not for long distance journeys where you have no other choice.
This is one of the points we need to clarify. Unfortunately Mrs SA will be one of the first EV users in the company, so there's nobody with actual experience she can ask.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff