The focus on electric vehicles seems to come at the expense of hydrogen vehicles and other alternative fuel solutions. Such solutions include hybrid vehicles, GTL (Gas-To-Liquid), bio fuel, LPG, LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).
In view of the speed at which these alternative fuels are being developed, it would be ill-advised to limit the focus to electric. Future motor fleets are likely to adopt a mix of fuels meeting the availability of vehicles and the intensity of use.
This means that upgrading to the appropriate mix of alternative fuels poses the greatest challenge for fleet managers. Delays and leaving the transition to alternative fuels too late will cause problems in the longer term: to achieve your CO2 targets the replacement of the fleet would have to be accelerated, resulting in escalating costs.
Optimising the mix of alternative fuels requires a clear car policy supported by an effective strategy. Strategic choices include the evaluation of current partnerships and contracts as to greater flexibility and shorter terms contracts. And also: a mix of vehicles previously not considered a serious alternative. Translating your policy into employment benefits takes guts. How to curb car options? Will your CO2 targets be leading, or does the selection of wheels your employers can choose from determine your CO2 targets? Difficult choices with a direct bearing on your employer branding in a tight job market. Combine your attractiveness as an employer with social responsibility and combine the various alternative fuel solutions.
We cannot predict what solutions will emerge in the coming years. Instead we adopt the solutions currently available to us, which requires flexibility when it comes to your selection of cars. In the short term, the focus will be on electrical and hybrid, but please don’t rule out other potential fuels!