‘Green Motoring’ Archive

It would appear that the UK Government has changed its mind regarding its plans to omit fleets from a multi-million pound subsidy package for electric cars.

In April of this year, when the Department for Transport announced the £230 million initiative, they reportedly told Fleet News that it would relate to private motorists only.

The Department now however says that there are 2 options available;

The first option is that rental and leasing companies are allocated a part of the subsidy to assist in reducing the cost of supplying electric vehicles.

The second is that a point-of-sale subsidy will be made available to both fleets and private buyers through the dealerships.

The aim of the initiative is to make the leasing cost of an electric vehicle the same as the diesel equivalent, even though the electric vehicle has a higher upfront cost.

The vehicles that will be eligible must have:

• European type approval for use as a car (M1).
• Receive some or all of their power from an external electricity source.
• Tailpipe emissions of 0g/km CO2 for an EV or 75g/km CO2 or less for a PHEV (range-extended electric vehicles which use petrol/diesel/ biofuel-powered generators will be counted as PHEV).
• Electric drive range in excess of 70 miles for an EV, 10 miles for a PHEV.
• Have a maximum speed in excess of 60mph.
• Rated as at least four stars in EuroNCAP crash tests.
• Warranty for electric powertrain (including the battery) of at least seven years or 100,000 miles.

Key Issues

The rising cost of fuel has become an increasingly worry for both fleet managers and drivers. Fuel prices are at an all time high, and are expected to rise further.

Merrion Fleet Managements Services have put some tips together for your drivers on the best way forward to reduce and keep their fuel costs to a minimum.

Please note, a fuel-efficient vehicle is a greener environmentally-friendly one.
Merrion Fleet Management top ten tips-

1. Locate Cheaper Fuel – Visit www.pumps.ie to source the cheapest fuel in you location.
The website lists the most up to date prices numerous Irish forecourts. Simply put in your address and find the cheapest unleaded, diesel, LPG and other fuels nearest to your area.

2. Vehicle Maintenance – Ensure you service your vehicle in conjunction with the vehicle handbook. A regularly serviced car will prove to be more efficient on fuel consumption.  The vehicle handbook will recommend specified fuel and oil for best efficiencies.

3. Keep your engine revs in check – Don’t over accelerate, this burns more fuel. Slowly increase your speed and move up through the gears. A rule of thumb is to try to change up a gear before you hit 2,500rpm (petrol) and 2,000rpm (diesel).

4. Adhere to the speed limits- Speed increases your fuel consumption. Each vehicle differs but typically the most efficient speeds on the majority of cars fall in between the 55 – 65mph.

5. Anticipate road conditions to drive more efficiently- Drive smoothly working your way through the gears. Eliminate as much as possible sharp acceleration and abrupt breaking. Switch off the engine if you’re at a standstill for example when stuck in stationary traffic. All of the above reduces accident rates and saves fuel.

6. Remove Accessories- The lighter the car, the less fuel consumed. Remove roof racks, roof boxes, and bike carriers, when not in use. These items add massive wind resistance making the engine work harder. This will significantly affect your vehicles aerodynamics which in turn assists on fuel efficiencies.

7. Avoid the unnecessary trips- A cold engine uses almost twice as much fuel and a catalytic converter may take five miles to become effective.  So leaving the car behind when you can walk or cycle will not only benefit your health and wallet as well as the environment. Carsharing is something to consider it saves money and congestion.

8. Check your tyre pressures frequently- Most car tyre pressures are stated on the inside fuel flap or listed in your vehicle handbook. Ensure your tyres are not underinflated as this is not only dangerous but increase wear and tear on the vehicle as well as increasing fuel consumption.

9. Turn off the air con- Both air conditioning and climate control may increase fuel consumption. If you don’t need it – turn it off.

10. Journey Planning- If you have a sat nav system use it to plan your route. If you don’t have a sat nav system, look up the internet for planning assistance. Explore the routes you use frequently and assess if there are less congested routes. It might be a longer trip in miles however if it reduces the stop/start motoring it could be more cost effective.�

A retro-fit hybrid conversion that has the capacity to save 61% on fuel and lower exhaust emissions by 39% has been unveiled. This new technology was developed in the UK by MIRA engineers.

This new conversion has a removable battery pack that allows existing vehicles to be upgraded to hybrid technology. This “plug-in hybrid” technology allows the lithium ion phosphate batteries to be charged by the engine running or by plugging it into the mains. The pack only weighs approx 11kgs so it can be moved from the vehicle for charging. “Despite advances in powertrain technology you can still obtain electricity from your domestic provider far cheaper and greener than you can produce it via and automotive combustion engine. This means plug-in hybrids make sense”, said Derek Charters, MIRA’s advance powertrain manager.

He went on to say “with this project we have removed the primary limitation of the plug-in hybrid concept by allowing the battery pack to come to the mains, rather than having to park it next to the socket.

At the moment, this technology is to be only sold to carmakers for use on new models.

Diesel is now averaging €1.246 per litre, 4 cent more expensive than petrol. Petrol has risen by .03% since March, while diesel has risen by 3%. Conor Faughnan off AA Ireland is concerned by “what appears to be a disproportionate rise in diesel prices”. Faughnan believes this latest increase in diesel prices are causing concerns for hauliers, business and the “rapidly growing number of private motorists who are choosing diesel because the new tax system favours the cleaner fuel”.

However diesel’s popularity makes perfect business sense. Diesel cars have improved enormously. The residual vales are now much better, companies are getting VAT rebates of 21% on the diesel they use in their cars, the fuel consumption itself is much better than that of petrol and the people driving these cars are happier that the price reductions for the diesel cars that are coming will reduce their benefit-in-kind exposure.

On whole life cost analysis, the benefits are very significant. Companies are reducing costs and it also is getting a greener profile because of the lower CO2 emission.

An independent consultants report to the European Commission on a long term oil policy has recommended that Brussels increasingly favour diesel over petrol use.

It stated “CO2 emissions from the latest petrol engines remain higher than those -from their diesel-powered equivalents. If the Commission is to maintain its current position regarding the lowering of CO2 emissions, it should look to encourage as large a consumer uptake of diesels as possible”.

The report goes on to recommend that “allowing tax breaks either through lowering the purchase price of diesel vehicles or adopting an EU-wide policy of lower diesel fuel duty can help further the acceptance of diesels”.

1)      Promote more Environmentally Friendly Vehicles:

By promoting the use of low C02 emitting vehicles in your fleet and car policy, you can help reduce the number of high polluting vehicles on our roads. It also helps reduce the amount of BIK your employees pay.
 

2)      Maintenance:

It is vitally important that all company vehicles are regularly and properly maintained. Vehicles that are not, are not only a potential danger but they also give rise to higher fuel consumption leading to great emissions
 

3)      Business Mileage:

By recording & analysis this data it allows you to identify possible areas where you can reduce business mileage and promote more efficient business travel.
 

4)      Fuel Consumption:

By analysing this data you can compare and contrast the overall cost of business travel per driver. This can help to identify areas for further action to ensure efficiency and reduce fuel costing.
 

5)      Driver Training:

By providing driver training courses for you r driver, you can help them overcome so habits that may be contributing to higher fuel consumption. This training can help focus your drivers minds on safer, more efficient & greener driving.
 

6)      Speed:

Speed is a huge problem on Irish Roads and it also is a large contributor to greater emissions. At 110km/h a car uses up to 25% more fuel then it would cruising at 90km/h.
7)      Planning:

If your drivers are encouraged to use the most direct route to a destination it will help greatly to reduce travel time. This can be achieved by enabling staff to access specific websites that offer street maps and route planners.
 

8)      Technology:

Availing of technologies such as satellite navigation and telematics will help avoid traffic congestion and optimise journey routes and times.
 

9)      Tyres:

By ensuring your driver maintain their tyres properly, it will not only reduce fuel consumption, it will also extend the tyre life and improve handling & safety.
 

10)   Tele-Conferencing:

By promoting the use of tele-conferencing you can offer a greater and more eco friendly alternative to business travel, be it national or international.

We are proud to announce a new partnership with The Tree Council of Ireland. From now on, Merrion Fleet will be making an annual contribution towards the planting of trees in Ireland. The size of the contribution and the number of trees planted will be based on the number of new vehicles that we supply to our customers. So now Merrion customers can feel good because their vehicle fleet will in future be making a positive contribution to the environment.

This partnership is very important to us as we strongly believe in Carbon Offsetting as a way to ‘balance out’ some of the impact that the vehicles we supply makes on the environment.

The Tree Council of Ireland is a voluntary non-governmental organisation which was formed in 1985 to promote the planting, care and conservation of trees in urban and rural areas. It aims to foster a tree and wood culture among Irish people.