I can’t think of a more exciting time to be involved in the automotive sector with the migration from fossil based fuels to electric power for cars and vans.

It’s the moment when the internal combustion engine cedes power to the electric drivetrain. Whatever the current operational difficulties, this is a historic period: the end of fossil fuels and the switching to zero-emission motoring.

As a business, Fleet Alliance has been championing the electrification of fleets from the moment our commercial director stepped into a Jaguar I-PACE back in February 2019. Since then, all Fleet Alliance company cars have transitioned to electric as existing contracts ran their course, giving us an unrivalled knowledge bank for advising customer fleets to do the same.

So it’s particularly pleasing to be awarded Best EV Broker by the Leasing Broker Federation. It’s one of five amazing awards that the business picked up at an awards ceremony last week (15 November 2022), including the overall title of Best Overall Broker, along with customer service and fleet management awards.

I think it speaks volumes about the level of expertise and service that our business provides.

But it’s the EV award that I really want to focus on.

We very much wanted to lead on the transition to electrification early on and it’s one of the reasons we became a member of EV100, a collection of businesses that are focused on transitioning fleets to electric by 2030.

It’s not always easy. Sometimes the benefits of electrification are not obvious. When we speak to fleets, one of the typical objections is the EV rental versus an equivalent diesel or petrol car. However, we have sophisticated whole life cost tools to illustrate that – despite the apparent price disparity – electric cars are less expensive on whole life costs, while the monthly drop in driver benefit in kind taxation is akin to providing a salary rise for an employee, a particularly useful move against the ever-increasing cost of living.

There are plenty more obstacles to be overcome, most commonly EV range and charging infrastructure. But our team, based on its extensive own user knowledge, can help guide and inform businesses on how to navigate these issues successfully.

Moving beyond company cars, we’re taking the lead in offering non-qualifying company car drivers the opportunity to experience electric motoring through our innovative electric car salary sacrifice scheme.

I see it as the democratisation of the electric car. Salary sacrifice allows a company’s employees to experience the benefits of going zero emission at a far lower cost than leasing privately. Again, we help both staff and the finance and HR departments understand the extraordinary cost benefits with our specially developed salary sacrifice tool, and then help employees on the transition from their old car to the new electric vehicle.

Cost benefits are just one part of the electrification picture, however. The impact on society of zero-emission cars is huge, offering significant benefits in cleaner air. Encouraging companies to go electric now plays an enormous role in the Environmental, Social and Governance agenda. And being able to offer salary sacrifice to all staff provides a positive demonstration of this commitment. It’s a message that’s increasingly finding a receptive audience.

Does all this sound slightly campaigning?

Well, yes, I think it does. It positively reflects our position on the importance of electrification.

Which is why I’m absolutely delighted to have won the Leasing Broker Federation’s EV Award above all else in our five-award haul. It’s recognition of our early position on EVs and continued push for fleets to decarbonise. We’re very grateful for that recognition.