Centrica: Third of businesses set to install EV charging points in employees’ homes

• 34% of firms planning on putting charging points in employees’ homes
• 81% claim the increase of home working during the pandemic has directly influenced their plans
• Upfront costs and operational challenges remain a key barrier to widespread adoption of home charging

A third (34%) of UK businesses are set to install electric vehicle (EV) charging points at employees’ homes as they electrify their fleets, according to a new study from Centrica Business Solutions.

The research, Powering Ahead: The Future of Electric Vehicles for Business, found that eight in ten (81%) firms say the rise in home working during the pandemic has driven them to consider installing charging points in employees’ homes, as a way to support flexible working.

Firms reported that one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption was managing the complexities of employees charging EVs at home and at public charging points (42%). But with the government’s ban on internal combustion engine vehicles less than a decade away, the data suggests that firms are prepared to act rather than risk delaying their own EV rollout.

Those firms with no plans to install remote charging points say the barriers to adoption include upfront cost (53%), operational challenges (41%) and a lack of knowledge about installation partners (35%).

The news comes after it was revealed UK businesses planned to invest £15.8bn in the electrification of their fleets over the next year, a 50% uplift on their spending during the previous 12 months.

But, the pandemic has caused one in ten (13%) to cancel their EV plans altogether, with a larger proportion of a fifth (20%) reporting that COVID-19 has actually accelerated their existing plans to invest in EVs.